Storm Arwen death toll hits three as driver killed in Aberdeenshire

A driver has died in Aberdeenshire after his truck was crushed by a tree as Storm Arwen battered Scotland.

The 35-year-old’s Nissan Navara pick-up truck was struck by a falling tree on the B977, Dyce to Hatton of Fintry Road at 5.45pm on Friday.

Emergency crews attended however the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sergeant Craig McNeill of the Divisional Road Policing Unit at Inverurie said: “Our thoughts are very much with the man’s family and friends at this time.

“Officers responding to this crash had parked a distance away due to weather conditions. On returning to their van they discovered a tree had fallen on it. No one was injured.”

The latest death brings the UK death toll to three after 90pmh gusts caused road closures, train cancellations and power cuts across the country.

Two motorists died on Friday due to falling trees in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and Ambleside in Lancashire.

Storm Arwen saw transport services thrown into chaos and more than 100,000 homes without electricity overnight.

The Met Office issued a rare red weather alert for wind from Friday at 3pm until 2am on Saturday, warning some areas could see gusts reaching 90mph.

An amber weather warning for wind remained in place for the Highlands, Central Belt, including Edinburgh, Grampian and Orkney and Shetland until Saturday morning.

A separate yellow ice warning has been issued overnight into Sunday.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said more than 100,000 customers were out of power. The main areas affected are Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and the Moray Coast.

The utility firm has managed to restore power to a 40,000 homes affected by the storms but warned the weather was severely hampering its work.

It is understood some passengers spent 17 hours stranded on board a train in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, due to rail routes being closed for safety.

One passenger told Fubar News: “Currently stuck on a train in Huntly. I personally have been on this thing for over 17 hours now.

“Many people on here have been on more. Staff onboard have been excellent. They managed to do an Asda run for water, sandwiches, snacks etc. Somehow even managed to source a kettle for tea/coffee. Also arranged for a local baker to bring down bacon rolls and fresh pies.

“Staff on board have been sharing what little info they get when they can. We were informed that a bus was coming from Inverness (no other companies were willing to take the risk) but that is also subject to road conditions.”

Rod Dennis, of RAC Breakdown, said those living in areas covered by weather warnings should consider postponing their planned trips until the storm passes.

Network Rail Scotland (NRS) confirmed services in the north from Aberdeen to Inverness and Aberdeen to Dundee had to be closed on Friday night due to fallen trees and debris on the lines.

The east coast line between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed and the North Berwick line have also had to close due to the extreme weather.

On Friday evening Karl Grewar, head of integrated control at NRS, said the lines were closed for safety reasons and will not reopen “until it is safe to do so”.

“We will be doing everything we can to open the lines as soon as we’re able to get people moving,” he said.

CalMac Ferries confirmed multiple services had to be cancelled due to the extreme wind causing dangerous sailing conditions at sea.