Drivers left stranded in their cars for up to 24HRS
HUNDREDS of drivers were marooned in their cars overnight as two days of snow chaos brought Scotland’s transport system to its knees.
As temperatures plunged to -5C overnight, travellers stranded on the M80 – some with babies – were forced to rely on food, drink and clothing handed out by local good Samaritans.
Some drivers were stranded on the Glasgow to Stirling route for up to 24 hours, and only managed to finally get moving at lunchtime yesterday.
Elsewhere in the transport network, Scotland’s major airports were crippled by the whiteout conditions for a second day, while train links were virtually non-existent.
Jackknifed lorries near Haggs, Stirlingshire, caused eight-mile tailbacks, involving an estimated 1,000 vehicles in both directions at the peak of the fiasco on Wednesday night and through into yesterday afternoon.
Around 50 drivers abandoned their vehicles and hiked out on foot.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent 4x4 vehicles to distribute food in what it called an ‘unprecedented weather event’.
Many firms sent employees home at lunchtime on Wednesday and remained closed yesterday. With more travel chaos expected today, the disruption to business could stretch into the weekend.
As the sun rose on the M80 yesterday, many stranded drivers were low on fuel after running their engines to keep warm overnight.
Abandoned cars on the hard shoulder prevented gritters from moving ahead of the jam to clear the snow.
At 10am yesterday, courier Alan Hastings, from Abertaking deen, was still stranded. The 50-year-old said: ‘At 6.30 last night it came to a standstill.
‘The police were just along a minute ago. There’s a car with a four-month-old baby and they were told, probably around 2am, that someone would take the baby away. That’s them taking them (the family) just now which I find bizarre.’
He added: ‘There’s been quite a few local people walking up and down with their winter woolies on, with bags of crisps and snacks and water – it’s totally unbelievable, it restores your faith in humanity.’
Laura Mackenzie, 33, from Dundee, was stranded overnight on a minibus with 11 other women.
They were heading for Glasgow Airport and a hen trip to Gran Canaria. She said: ‘We’ve been here since 7.30pm last night. ‘We have slept here the whole night – we got out beach towels for blankets because we weren’t really prepared for that. ‘The local people have been amazing, we got crisps, sweets, biscuits, tea. Where we’re stuck is quite near a flyover so a lot of the girls have been walking up and the local people have let them use their toilets.’ She added: ‘At about 3am we had a knock on the door from the fire and rescue service and got a hot meal.’ Some motorists criticised the authorities’ response to the weather. Antonio Thomasso, 44, from Glasgow, who had driven to Nottinghamshire and back as the weather descended, said the difference in England was ‘night and day’. He added: ‘The roads are cleared there, they have got the gritters out in force, what are they doing up here? Who’s organising this? It’s not rocket science, just get the guys out working. They had plenty of warning.’
Good Samaritans Adam Kirk, 32, Barry Currie, 30, and his father Peter, 50, braved the blizzards to take food and drink to people who were stuck.
The trio handed out pizzas, home-made lentil soup, chocolate, tea and Irn-Bru,
Mr Kirk, a chef from Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire, said: ‘I was worried about there being kids, or vulnerable people stuck in their cars, so we just wanted to make sure they were OK.
‘We were out for about two hours and everyone was in great spirits.
‘We offered our phones to people who had run out of battery in case they wanted to make a call.’
He added: ‘It was a bit worrying
‘It’s not rocket science’
all the food from our own homes, because you’re thinking, I can’t get out and get anything either. But I just thought at least I will be in a warm house.
‘These people were in their cars, so they took priority.’
Motorist Ryan Daly, 36, got thousands of ‘likes’ on Facebook after posting a picture of his slice of pizza, with many social media users hailing the trio as heroes.
Meanwhile, trains were reduced to a skeleton service yesterday. The only routes operating in the Central Belt were between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Falkirk and Kilmarnock.
Glasgow Airport remained closed yesterday. Around 500 delayed travellers had been stranded at the terminal overnight from Wednesday. Red Cross volunteers distributed bedding and blankets to those forced to spend the night.
Chris and Vicky Robinson, from Stranraer, Wigtownshire, were bound for their honeymoon in the Maldives. Mr Robinson, 29, said: ‘We were about to board the plane yesterday at 1pm, and 15 minutes before we were to take off they cancelled it and we’ve been here since. We had heard about camp
Planes, trains & automobiles – all stopped in their tracks
beds and blankets, but we got no information about that.’
Marjory Russell, who was trying to get to Los Angeles, faced a second night in the terminal.
She said: ‘Some hotels are trying to charge hundreds of pounds so we’re just going to tough it out in the airport, what else can you do?’
Edinburgh Airport closed at 6pm but aims to reopen today.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney described the storm as ‘the most significant snow incident’ since 2010 and said the M80 incident had presented ‘significant challenges’.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, he said people should avoid travelling today ‘to give us an opportunity to clear the incidents we have and to give us an opportunity to recover the network.’