The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Panic buying as shelves empty
Body found in search for woman missing in Ochil Hills
The beast from the east is causing further havoc as stocks in many shops are running precariously low.
Some stores resorted to rationing yesterday, while others simply had no staples to offer those customers who had battled through the snow in the hope of picking up basics such as milk and bread.
Many roads were once again closed and several accidents reported and all schools were shut.
Meanwhile, Forth Valley police confirmed that the body of Alison Fox had been found after a search of the Ochil Hills.
The 51-year-old from Alloa went missing on Thursday after getting lost in the hills near Menstrie and her body was found yesterday afternoon near Dunyat Farm.
A body has been found in the hunt for a missing Alloa woman as the ‘Beast from the East’ kept its icy grip on the country.
Alison Fox was last seen heading into the hills near Menstrie on Thursday.
Police later raised concerns for her welfare and mountain rescue teams were brought in to help with the hunt.
The search ended in tragedy after the body of a woman was recovered yesterday afternoon.
While a formal identification is yet to take place, police have notified the 51-year-old’s family.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “We can confirm that the body of a woman has been recovered during the search to trace Alison Fox.
“Officers and mountain rescue teams had been searching the Ochil Hills to trace the 51-year-old after she got lost on the hills near Menstrie on Thursday March 1.
“The body was found near to Dunyat Farm at around 2.15pm on Friday March 2. No formal identification has taken place at this time, however Alison’s family are being informed.”
He added that there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
The death is one of a number which have taken place since large-scale snowfalls gripped the UK and experts have warned that Courier Country is “not out of the woods yet” with regards to severe winter weather.
Although temperatures are set to rise from the middle of next week, a yellow weather warning for snow and ice remains in force into Monday night.
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said further severe weather was on its way.
He said: “It will gradually get better and we hopefully won’t see the extremes of snows that we have seen so far this week, but there will be some more snow through Friday and into Saturday.
“There could be another 5cm, possibly 10cm, of snow again today.
“It will be showers, so some places won’t see much more but others by midnight on Sunday may have seen another 20cm.
“On top of that our main concern is drifting – it’s still going to be windy so the snow on the ground will blow around as we go through the next couple of days.
“There’s the potential to have some very large drifts of snow which could be dangerous for motorists, especially at night.
“Wind chill will still be a factor, with temperatures still around freezing as a high.
“There will be a risk of ice as well as temperatures gradually get a little bit warmer.
“Some of the snow on the ground will thaw a little bit in the day and then overnight it will get very cold again causing it to refreeze, causing a risk of black ice.
“By the middle of next week milder air will start coming up from the south and transition the snow showers back to rain, which will help the thaw.”
It’s estimated that the cold snap has so far cost insurers £17 million.
An expert from the AA said there could have been as many as 13,000 collisions across the UK as motorists continued to head out on to the nation’s roads.
Michael Lloyd, the AA’s director of insurance, said that during icy weather drivers tend to be more careful, which means that most accidents are relatively minor in nature.
“There is more dented pride and panels than serious damage,” he said.
“The majority of cars are still drivable after these collisions.
“For many drivers this is a once-in-a-decade experience and many will never have driven on snow or ice-bound roads before.
“Inevitably, that lack of experience takes its toll.”
Among the motorists facing the headache of an insurance claim were four drivers who were caught up in a pile-up on the A90 at Tealing.
The vehicles involved spun in the road with each lined up facing towards the field following the accident near Tinkletap Farm.
No one was seriously injured, but the southbound carriageway was closed for around 90 minutes as a result.