You silly snowflake!
Walker sent rescue teams on 16-mile wild goose chase as storm raged
MOUNTAIN rescuers were left furious after spending hours searching for a walker during Storm Brendan only to discover him snug in a bothy.
The Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team was called out at the height of the storm to rescue a young hillwalker with a ‘sore leg’.
The man, described as being in his 20s, had dialled 999 after getting into difficulty and being separated from his two friends on a walk along the shores of Loch Ericht, south of Dalwhinnie, Inverness-shire.
He told police he was cold, wet and had hurt his leg. He also gave a grid reference for his location.
But Cairngorm MRT said the man had then carried on walking to Ben Alder Cottage Bothy, without telling emergency services.
A Coastguard helicopter would have been involved in the rescue but was unable to fly because of the weather conditions.
The rescuers said in a ‘rant’ on social media: ‘We rarely criticise but this was total abuse of our resources. He was found in the bothy with his mates – in their sleeping bags. We walked 26k (16 miles) in very poor weather to find him. He said he had a sore tendon. Oh well!’ The criticism came after
Storm Brendan battered the country with heavy rain and winds reaching speeds of more than 100mph on Monday.
Yesterday, many commuters faced fresh misery as the clean-up after the storm began. In Glasgow, commuters were delayed by Highland cows on the railway track at Pollokshaws West.
In Fort William, staff at the Crannog Restaurant were mopping up after it was inundated by surging water from Loch Linnhe.
Even yesterday, Brendan was still lashing the far North-West and the Western Isles with 73mph winds. A yellow Met Office warning for severe weather was in place until midnight last night.
In the Highlands, a snow and ice warning was in place. The snow gates were closed on the A939 at Cock Bridge, Aberdeenshire, and gritters were out on the A9.
CalMac warned of possible ferry disruption today, while damage to power lines caused havoc on ScotRail services between Glasgow Central and Ardrossan, Largs and Ayr. Services to Stranraer were also halted.
Yesterday, 18 flood alerts were in place, plus 29 flood warnings. The Met Office said the strongest winds would ease this morning.