The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Storm Ali’s trail of damage in Fife
Students in lucky escape as tree falls near Guardbridge
A party of students escaped serious injuries yesterday after a bus was hit by a tree near St Andrews as Storm Ali swept across Fife.
Another falling tree toppled over, damaging play equipment at Fair Isle primary school in Kirkcaldy, high winds tore down a marquee at the Old Course at St Andrews and a caravan toppled over at a holiday park near Kinghorn.
The Forth and Tay road bridges were closed, restrictions were in place on the Queensferry Crossing and roads in Fife were also blocked.
Two people died in Ireland and across Scotland, more than 70,000 homes were without power. V&A Dundee also had to close due to safety fears.
Tayside and Fife was dealt a pummelling yesterday as Storm Ali sent winds of up to 102mph gusting across land and sea, felling trees, blocking roads and leaving homes without power
A coachload of Dundee University students had a lucky escape when a falling tree smashed into their bus near St Andrews.
Trees were also toppled in the grounds of two Fife primary schools. No children were hurt in either incident.
Still in Fife, a static caravan at the Pettycur Bay holiday park was blown over and a marquee that had been erected for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course in St Andrews was ripped to shreds by the wind.
Elsewhere, a street in Perth city centre was closed to protect the public from dangerous buildings, homes in Tealing and Birkhill were left without power, lifeboat volunteers in Broughty Ferry had to go to the rescue of four yachts which had broken free of their moorings and rail services in and out of Dundee were cancelled for much of the day.
The bus crash happened at Kincaple Farm Cottages, just east of Guardbridge, at around 12.45pm as the students were on their way to a football tournament hosted by St Andrews University.
The driver and one of the students were injured after falling branches mangled the top of the coach.
Bus operator Fishers Tours said the student received stitches at the scene from a paramedic.
Company director Jim Cosgrove said: “The driver was a bit shaken obviously. One passenger had to get stitches on the scene by a paramedic, but the other 69 were OK.”
Mr Cosgrove said the coach was a write off but praised the driver, who stayed on to continue his day’s work.
At St Andrews, the Alfred Dunhill Links team said they were confident the damage to their marquee would not have an impact on the event, which takes place at the Old Course from October
4to7.
In Perth, Mill Street was closed after concerns were raised that loose tiles and insecure masonry could crash to the ground. Perth Theatre and the Premier Inn hotel were both affected.
Perth and Kinross Council said the street would be blocked at both ends for the “foreseeable future”.
Concerns were also raised about loose materials on the roof of Perth High School. A section of the playground was cordoned off to protect pupils.
Children at Fair Isle Primary School in Kirkcaldy were inside their classrooms when a tree blew over and damaged play equipment.
Roads were blocked across Tayside and Fife due to fallen trees, branches and other debris.
Part of Perth Road in Dundee had to be closed as bricks from a chimney fell to the ground.
Jack Lefeuvre was working in his shop Le Freak Records when he heard it collapse.
He said: “I heard a big bang and saw everyone coming outside. It could have killed someone.”
Elsewhere in the city, two trees fell on to the Kingsway at around 1pm.
Engineers from Bear Scotland began clearing the road a short time later but traffic heading west was reduced to one lane in order to negotiate the obstacle.
Nearby resident Yvonne Smith said: “I’ve been writing to Bear Scotland since 2007 about these trees. The next time it happens it will be on a car.”
A tree fell on a car behind the Caird Hall and Menzieshill resident Thomas Curran had a lucky escape when a tree fell into his garden, just feet from the wall of his Tweed Crescent home.
The road to Tealing off the A90 was closed after an electricity pylon was blown on to the road and several other routes were blocked by trees.
Power cuts hit homes in Tealing and Birkhill. An SSE spokeswoman confirmed 189 homes were affected in Birkhill. The amber warning ended at 6pm yesterday, with winds dying down soon after. A yellow warning for winds up to 60mph was in place until 10pm.
There are no warnings in place across Courier Country.