Part of a cliff that overhangs an Aberdeenshire village is set to be removed over fears it could collapse after a large crack appeared in it.
Residents of Pennan near Fraserburgh were put on evacuation alert overnight after fears a landslide could block the only access to the tiny coastal village.
The crack, which was discovered during a routine inspection and is 25m long and is up to a foot wide in parts, was caused by “unprecedented rainfall” in recent weeks.
Aberdeenshire Council say they are “not planning” an evacuation but engineers are due to carry out a further investigation on the site on Wednesday afternoon.
Authorities have been in the village advising residents, who have been told to pack an overnight bag in case the road had to be closed.
A council spokesman stressed that the matter is not related to previous landslides in the area and that no homes are at risk.
Director of Transportation and Infrastructure for Aberdeenshire Council Iain Gabriel said: "Now that there’s a crack that's opened up clearly if it does rain again and the forecast is for the weekend is for more rain then water can get directly into that then perhaps cause even more instability.
“That's why we've got geo-technical people there today. They will give us advice on that in relation to timescale. We will also make a decision this afternoon in relation to whether we continue the 24 hour monitoring on site, where we've had flood lights and people there so that if there was any hint of movement we could take early action."
"We've had exceptional rainfall that's really unprecedented for this area and that's clearly having an impact at Pennan and no doubt at a number of other areas. It's just that at Pennan there's that issue about it being the only access and also the closeness of the houses to the cliff face."
Resident Linda Kutchinsky says she is at the end of her tether over the ongoing situation in the village.
She said: “I feel very frustrated. This has been going on for two and a half years, since the first landslide fell on that road. It’s a very worrying situation for all of us because if the road goes, the village goes.”
“We’ve had some money for over a year now so why can’t they (the council) get on with it instead of all these assessments and surveys.
However, Susan Johnson, who runs a Bed & Breakfast in the village says residents are not especially worried about the latest scare.
She said: “It’s a threat on the road, not the houses, so we’ll wait and see. I’m not panicking at all.”
Aberdeenshire Council said it is considering removing a section of the cliff but any such operation is likely to take several days because the access road is steep and narrow.
An expert on the movement of earth materials is travelling to Pennan to assess the crack and decide the best course of action.
The road to the village is closed to everyone except residents.
The cracked cliff is to the left on the road leading to the village and is not near at the same site as the August 2007 landslide when residents were forced to flee their homes after massive mudslides swamped houses.
The village was made famous when it was used as the location for 1983 Burt Lancaster film Local Hero.
