Couple feared swept to deaths by storm
AN elderly couple are feared to have been swept to their deaths after their car was found washed up on a beach as 30ft waves lashed the shore.
Susan and James Kenneavy’s grey Ford Kuga was found on a beach at around 7.30am yesterday.
Police say the couple have not been at their home in nearby Drummore, Wigtownshire, and have not made any contact with family members.
The car was discovered, still locked, at the bottom of an embankment by workmen who were clearing the road, which had been closed due to flooding when mountainous seas pounded the shore during Storm Diana.
The incident happened in the most south-westerly corner of Scotland, where the A716 from Stranraer runs close to Luce Bay and is regularly closed during storms.
Police and Coastguard teams spent much of the day searching for the couple and were joined by a rescue helicopter from Prestwick and lifeboats from Portpatrick and Stranraer.
The car was taken away for
examination and police have appealed to the public for help in finding Mr Kenneavy, 79, and his 65-year-old wife.
Inspector Craig Nicolson said: ‘We are very worried about Mr and Mrs Kenneavy. We know the Drummore coastal road was closed last night due to coastal flooding, but I would ask anyone that saw the vehicle or who knows the whereabouts of the couple to contact Police Scotland.
‘We have been carrying out searches in and around Drummore all day with the assistance of the Coastguard and these searches remain ongoing.’
Sally McKean, who owns the Queens Hotel in Drummore, said: ‘Everyone is shocked and hoping for the best that the couple are found safe and well. It was absolutely horrendous here on Wednesday.
‘We know the road was really bad with the high winds and high tide. Jim and Susan are well known and we regularly see Susan out with her dogs.’
Mrs McKean added: ‘They are very well known in the village and have been here for a long time and were involved in the local community.
‘We saw police and Coastguards out and a recovery vehicle was here as well.’
Liam Colquhoun, a maritime operations specialist with Belfast Coastguards, said: ‘We were told that the car was
‘Everyone is shocked and hopes for the best’
locked when it was found but their house has been checked and there’s no one in.
‘There’s no guarantee they’re in the water but we assume if they were OK they would have contacted someone.’
The horror comes as Scotland was battered with torrential downpours yesterday, just 24 hours after Storm Diana tore through with hurricane-force winds.
At the height of the storm, the Southwest of Scotland was hit by winds of up to 70mph, sending huge waves crashing into the Rhins of Galloway.
While almost all of the country endured lengthy downpours yesterday, it was the far North-east and South-west which suffered the most.
A flood warning was in place last night in Dumfries, where the River Nith was about to burst its banks. That was only one of 22 flood warnings announced by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
Marc Becker, duty flooding manager for SEPA, said: ‘We currently have a flood warning in place for the Whitesands area of Dumfries and are expecting flooding of the car park to commence imminently.
‘SEPA will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates via Floodline. We will continue to liaise with our partner organisations and emergency responders.’ Dozens of roads in Aberdeen were also inundated for much of the day, sparking a major effort by council workers to clear drains as quickly as possible.
By late afternoon, ten routes were still causing motorists problems because of flooding.
An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: ‘Our staff are out across the city unblocking drains and clearing flood waters in difficult weather conditions, so we would ask motorists to slow down when driving near them.
‘We have cleared several floods today and are working towards the remaining roads and a response squad will continue this work into the night.
‘We have been clearing leaves from streets and pavements over the last few weeks however drains still can get blocked during periods of heavy rain.
‘Motorists are also advised not to drive through flood water as they do not know the depth of the flood water, even if they are in a 4x4.’
During last night’s rush-hour, Traffic Scotland tweeted that traffic was slow-moving for seven miles on the M80, between Dunipace and Cumbernauld.
Heavy flooding completely closed the railway line at Kirkconnel in Dumfriesshire, affecting services from Glasgow to Carlisle and Newcastle.
In Ayrshire, the combination of wind and high tide continued to cause disruption at Saltcoats, on the line between Glasgow and Ardrossan and Largs.
Many CalMac services on the West Coast were cancelled, delayed or had sailings re-scheduled due to the strong winds.
The Met Office had earlier warned that some parts of Scotland could expect more than an inch of rain in six hours. It recorded 29.2mm(1.14in) of rain at Eskdalemuir in Dumfriesshire.
Forecaster Sophie Yeomans said: ‘As well as the heavy rain, we have also seen some pretty strong gusts of wind across Scotland.
‘A gust of 66mph was recorded at Cairnwell in the eastern Highlands and the wind topped 86mph on Cairngorm summit.’