The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)

Snow disrupts travel and closes schools

WEATHER: High winds and drifting snow make for treacherou­s conditions

- Jim millar

The Beast from the East continues to hold Angus in its vice-like grip as a third day of school closures and traffic disruption hit the county.

As the winter weather caused havoc yesterday, one elderly lady had a narrow escape in an Arbroath supermarke­t when high winds blew roof panels from a trolley store.

Gritters and ploughs had been out on the roads from 5am in a bid to keep priority routes clear, but drifting snow continued to hamper their efforts throughout the day.

Angus Council announced yesterday afternoon that all schools and council nurseries would remain shut today.

All Dundee and Angus College campuses and outreach centres closed as blizzards and high winds made some roads impassable.

Recycling centres at Arbroath, Monifieth and Kirriemuir were all forced to close as the council’s chief executive Margot Williamson praised staff.

Bus companies ran reduced services, or cancelled them altogether as driving conditions became increasing­ly treacherou­s.

Communitie­s and travellers across Scotland pulled together as the Beast from the East continued to batter the country yesterday.

A Met Office red alert remained in place across the Central Belt, Fife and Tayside until 10am, when it was downgraded to an amber warning until the evening.

The poor weather resulted in a day off for many workers, who took the opportunit­y to help vulnerable people.

Motorists who were stranded overnight on the M80 were given food and water by residents living next to the Stirling-Glasgow route.

Dundee HGV driver Alex Downie described being stuck on the M80 near Castlecary since 5pm on Wednesday.

He said: “A few volunteer people came up and down the roads, it must have been about one o’clock this morning, a gentleman came over from his house with provisions and passed them out to people in cars.”

Further south, on the A1 at Lindisfarn­e, a Greggs delivery driver unloaded his lorry to feed hungry motorists.

Mechanical engineer Les Goff from Leeds was also stuck and helped the driver Jon Gowing to share cakes, pasties and doughnuts out.

Mr Goff said: “The traffic had been stopped for a couple of hours so I went for a walk for a couple of miles to see if I could help, but I still couldn’t see the start of the queue.

“I was walking back down the hill when I saw the Greggs guy at the back with the tail-lift and he just said ‘Do you want some cakes?’

“He asked me to take some to the other drivers and he walked up the traffic and I walked down the traffic with doughnuts, vanilla slices and cakes, handing them out.

“He was a top guy. He said if he hadn’t delivered them by a certain time, they would go to waste.”

Roisin Currie, people and retail director at Greggs, said: “We are incredibly proud of Jon and his act of kindness in what must have been a very tough situation for him and all the other poor people stuck on the A1 in this cold weather.

“We hope that his kind gesture was able to help make everyone’s day a little bit better.”

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said they bought hundreds of pounds worth of food and water from supermarke­ts to distribute to stranded drivers on the route, along with blankets.

Assistant Chief Officer Lewis Ramsay said: “This was an unpreceden­ted weather event and there is absolutely no doubt that our firefighte­rs went above and beyond the call of duty.”

Elsewhere across Scotland, an army of civilian volunteers offered to take medical staff to work, or to fetch medication and other provisions for elderly residents trapped in their homes.

In Carnoustie community-spirited youngsters spent hours helping dig more than 30 vehicles, including buses, out of drifts on the Westhaven to Panbride Road.

The Beast from the East resulted in Scotland’s first ever red warning for snow since the system was introduced in 2011. A second red warning was also in place for the south west of England.

The storm has already claimed several lives, including that of a seven-year-old girl, who died after a car hit a house in Cornwall.

The poor weather is set to continue into the weekend, with many schools and workplaces remaining closed.

Witnesses due at 15 courts in Scotland have been told not to attend trials today.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service has said a number of hearings will not take place over safety fears.

Cases will be adjourned to another day and witnesses will be advised of the new date.

Courts affected include Glasgow, Edinburgh, Livingston, Kirkcaldy, Dunfermlin­e, Hamilton, Alloa, Stirling, Falkirk, Paisley, Dumbarton, Airdrie, Greenock, Perth and Coatbridge.

Only what is deemed as “essential business” will take place, meaning criminal custody cases and time barred cases as well as urgent civil applicatio­ns.

 ?? Picture: Gareth Jennings. ?? A lorry and a van are victims of the dangerous conditions on the Dundee to Forfar road.
Picture: Gareth Jennings. A lorry and a van are victims of the dangerous conditions on the Dundee to Forfar road.
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 ?? Pictures: Getty/PA. ?? Clockwise from top: a snowplough clears the road and a man braves the conditions in Balloch, West Dunbartons­hire, a wintry Princes Street in Edinburgh, and Poppy Burchill, 4, sledges in Larbert, near Falkirk.
Pictures: Getty/PA. Clockwise from top: a snowplough clears the road and a man braves the conditions in Balloch, West Dunbartons­hire, a wintry Princes Street in Edinburgh, and Poppy Burchill, 4, sledges in Larbert, near Falkirk.
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