Strathblane community isolated after snow drifts cut off village

A rural community has been left isolated after massive snow drifts cut off roads to the village.

The main route through Strathblane in the Stirling Council area was buried by the extreme weather which has been hitting Scotland since Wednesday.

Eilidh McManus had been trying to get home to Oban, Argyll and Bute, after staying with her mother in the village half an hour north of Glasgow when the A81 disappeared beneath a thick blanket of snow.

She said: “We haven’t been able to get out, my mum lives in a wee lane that’s been tightly snowed in – we’ve been stuck here since it started.

“The community’s got together, everyone’s out digging the snow at the moment trying to get room for cars to get out – there’s even someone out giving people wee pots of curry.”

The 25-year-old, who had been getting treatment in Glasgow for burns to her leg, added: “I won’t be going anywhere any time soon until people have cleared it.

“I’ve heard we had one delivery of something, we hadn’t had a delivery for a few days.

“Hopefully the shops will have something in them. They’ve been pretty bare – nothing’s got through.”

Heavy snowfall began across Scotland with the arrival of the so-called Beast of the East.

A two-day red weather warning – the highest possible – was put in place for central parts of the country on Wednesday and Thursday.

Much of Scotland continued to be covered by an amber alert for snow until 10am on Friday.

Snow ploughs have been tackling the snow in the area in attempts to clear the roads.

Another resident of the Strathblane area, Gerry McDade, was almost left stranded overnight after trying to get back home from Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire.

The 46-year-old from Blanefield was making the near five-mile trip with his friend Vinny Cairney on foot when they got into difficulty – before getting help from a tractor.

He said: “It was just an absolute nightmare, I have never seen snow like that in my life. It’s just a huge snow drift that’s completely blocked it.

“We got stuck out in Milngavie but I had to get back to my dog. We started walking and a guy stopped in a tractor and gave us a lift.”