The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Cupar chimney collapse causes street closure
Emergency: Road disruption as part of house falls into flats below
A Fife street could be sealed off for weeks after part of a house fell through an adjoining flat.
The chimney breast of the two-storey property on Millgate, Cupar, collapsed on Tuesday night, with part of the structure falling through the roof of flats below.
Nobody is understood to have been injured in the incident, which one local resident said he had been anticipating.
Alasdair Hood, who lives nearby, said: “I’ve been watching the damage to this chimney breast for about two years now. It has been continuing to get worse.
“When I heard a rumble about 9pm, I knew immediately what must have happened and when I looked out the entire chimney breast had come away.”
A stretch of Millgate was closed yesterday as crowds gathered to witness the huge gap in the side of the house.
A cordon had been established outside the affected house and the adjacent properties.
It is understood that both buildings involved have been divided into flats, which are privately let.
There was nobody at home when The Courier called yesterday morning.
Ewen MacDonald, 41, a stonemason for FA Sweeney Limited, said: “From what I could see the whole chimney breast has come away from the building.
“I think it’s very lucky that more damage hasn’t been caused and that no one was injured.
“The interior of the chimney breast is completely gone.
“If we get a strong wind then it could certainly topple over.”
Fife Council say they do not know how long the road closure at Millgate will remain in place.
The local authority’s transportation supervisor, Nicky Johnson, said: “We came along and closed off the road and it will remain closed for the foreseeable future until the extent of the damage can be assessed.”