Farmer to the rescue
Cambuskenneth was among Stirling district villages cut off by snow drifts during last week’s snowstorm.
But village farmer Andrew Rennie of Hood Farm used his tractor to clear away snow which had drifted to a depth of three feet on the only road in and out of the village.
Between 8am and noon on Friday he cleared the snow lying on a mile-long stretch of Ladysneuk Road between his farm to the south of Cambuskenneth right up to the junction of the A907 Alloa Road.
Cambuskenneth villager Gordon Robertson had walked to work at Monument Press in Riverside via the bridge over the Forth.
He explained:“The snow was being blown over the low-lying fields before starting work again on Saturday, did not get back to her home in Braehead until Saturday.
She said:“Everybody mucked in. Staff stayed on so we had 24-hour cover. There were makeshift beds in the living room of the nursing home.
“One of our nurses had to dig her car out of the snow to get to work.”
Forthview Nursing home manager Yvonne Graham said:“We’re really grateful for the hard work to the east of the village.
“It just kept building up and up on the road. It would’ve been too deep for a snow plough to get through.
“Andrew took it upon himself to clear the snow last Friday morning. He started at the area around his farm.
“I took my car out at noon on Friday. It’s a 4x4 and I met Andrew just as he was clearing the last section near the Gestetner factory. It’s a fair distance.”
Andrew usually uses the tractor, or teleporter, to move bales and cattle feed around the farm.
He said:“I have been here man and boy for 60 years and have never seen snow as deep as that on the road before.
“I hope it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“The weather was coming out of the east and the snow was being blown from the fields into the road.
“I didn’t realise it was such a big job until I got started.”