The heavy steel structure toppled over and landed in the middle of a residential street on Tuesday night.
A huge pole has fallen onto a street in Aberdeenshire due to high winds from Storm Chandra, leaving residents “shocked”. The heavy steel structure toppled onto a residential street in Westshore Gardens in Fraserburgh.
Locals say they heard a “sudden bang” at around 8pm on Tuesday, January 27. They looked outside to see the hefty beam lying in the middle of the road. No one is believed to have been injured.
It comes as the north east is currently getting battered by wind and rain from the third named storm of the season which has seen extreme weather and ferocious winds of up to 60mph thud large parts of the nation.
An onlooker took to social media to express their concern, writing: “Sudden bang! Huge pole fell! Thank God it didn’t kill anyone. Or it could have destroyed a car or house.
“We’re shocked! Was it safety controlled at all? [Why] build such structures where strong winds are frequent… we often go out at this time with the children. Luckily not this time.”
It is understood Police Scotland attended the scene and that Aberdeenshire Council will be notified. The Record has contacted Aberdeenshire Council for comment.
Three yellow Met Office warnings are currently active across Scotland, with a further nine covering other parts of the UK.
The first alert for rain and snow came into force at midnight and runs until 5pm, warning of 20–30mm of rain, rising to 40–50mm in some areas, and snowfall ranging from 2cm to 20cm.
It covers Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, the Scottish Borders, West Lothian, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire.
A second yellow warning for rain and snow is in place further north — covering Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Highland and Argyll and Bute — from 6am until midnight.
A third warning, this time for strong winds, is active until midnight across Dumfries and Galloway, Argyll and Bute and South Ayrshire, with gusts expected to reach 50–60mph.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued two flood warnings and eight flood alerts amid fears rivers could burst their banks.
The most severe warnings are in place at Aberbothrie in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, and along the River Isla at Coupar Angus.
Flood alerts also cover Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen, Ayrshire and Arran, Central Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee and Angus, the Scottish Borders, Tayside and West Central Scotland.
Met Office chief forecaster Paul Gundersen said: “As Chandra interacts with colder air further north, snow becomes a significant hazard, with 10–20cm possible over higher ground in southern Scotland and the Highlands.
“With such a complex spell of weather, it’s vital people keep up to date with forecasts and warnings in their area.”
