Road crash probe unit for Fort ‘unlikely’

THE CHANCES of Fort William getting its own road accident police unit are ‘quite unlikely’, according to a Lochaber police sergeant.

At a meeting last month, members of Kilmallie Community Council raised concerns over the lack of a police road accident investigation unit in Fort William after a number of road traffic collisions (RTCs) this summer led to road closures of up to seven hours.

Community council member Jim Ramsay said: ‘When the new police station was built they said there’d be sufficient numbers and trained people to cover road accidents.’

Currently, Fort William and Lochaber relies on police accident investigators from Inverness or Dingwall.

Sergeant Andy Bilton explained: ‘It’s to do with kit primarily, rather than local people that are trained. The kit is in Inverness and it is hugely expensive - the camera is upwards of £1m. Having the equipment locally is quite unlikely. The units in Inverness and Dingwall cover the Highlands which means if there is a collision in Caithness or Sutherland, for example, they have to go out there and cover it too. The Highlands actually are the most equipped for RTCs than we’ve ever been.’

Members highlighted the units in Inverness and Dingwall could easily be blocked on their way to an accident in Lochaber if other sections of the A82 are also closed.

Sergeant Bilton continued: ‘A big problem is the lack of availability of diversion routes. Traffic Scotland only put diversions on trunk roads.’