South Ayrshire residents stranded in homes as weather takes hold

Jan 8 2010 by Stuart Wilson, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

RESIDENTS are being left stranded in their homes as Arctic weather pounds South Ayrshire.

Villages are the worst affected, with untreated roads leaving outlying areas a complete no-go zone.

And as gritters continue to focus on main roads, much of the area is being left to go it alone.

In Kincaidston, just a five minute drive from Ayr town centre, some residents have been trapped for more than a week.

Douglas Steel fears his wife, Heather, may miss a crucial operation on her leg after being unable to leave her home since December 19.

He said: “It’s impossible for her to walk on the pavements when they’re like this.

“Lots of people round here are just staying indoors because it’s too bad to go outside.

“I’m having to grab on to the walls just to walk down the road.”

Post photographer Alister Firth found out to his cost just how bad Kincaidston is when he ended up on his backside while snapping the icy conditions.

Al revealed: “One minute I was photographing an empty salt bin, the next I was on my back.

“The pavements are absolutely treacherous and it’s dangerous just leaving your house at the moment.”

In Maybole, a terrified couple had to dive for cover as a car skidded on ice and ploughed into their garden.

Elizabeth and Jim Taylor had a miracle escape as the motor lost control on the untreated John Knox Street.

Elizabeth, 59, said: “I kept trying to tell them (the council) – everyone around here has been doing the same.

“I don’t know if the council has new rules these days, but they certainly don’t grit like they used to.”

A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Council said: “John Knox Street in Maybole has been gritted during the adverse weather in accordance with our winter maintenance plan.

“Due to the adverse weather the snow plough was unable to grit the road, because of the gradient of the street and the cars parked along the carriageway. It would have been dangerous to take the plough on to the carriageway at that time.”

The council pledged to re-visit later in the day and attempt to grit when the road was in a better state.