White misery strands gymnastics group

A FORRES gymnastics instructor and several of her students were trapped in a blizzard on the Dava Moor on Sunday evening after snow made an unwelcome return at the weekend.

Although snow fell in Forres on Saturday evening, subsequent heavy rainfall and higher temperatures saw it off, but some rural areas around Forres suffered the brunt of it and as the 'Gazette' was going to print on Monday, several inches of snow was lying in Dallas and Logie and the A940 Forres road to Grantown was shut due to heavy snow and dangerous driving conditions.

Local gymnastics instructor Patsy Fraser Mackenzie was in a convoy of two cars returning from the central belt on Sunday evening when they hit white-out conditions and had to be rescued by police who took them back to a hotel in Grantown where they had to spend the night.

"We were on the Dava just past the 'Jesus Saves' sign at about 8pm when we came upon three vehicles which were stuck in the snow in front of us and just couldn't move," she said. "I couldn't believe it because we were in 4x4s and were going ok up until that point. The snow gates were not closed and there were no warning signs on the road."

With no sign of the police and struggling to get a phone signal, they just had to wait and hope someone would turn up, with snow falling around them and blocking the cars on the road. Eventually Patsy's husband, George managed to get an emergency signal on his phone and called 999.

"After about an hour, a police car arrived which had come from Inverness," said Mrs Mackenzie. "They had to take a lad away out of one of the vehicles ahead of use first because he had a broken rib, and then had to come back for a family with a small child, and then a chap who was suffering with the cold."

She added that the wind and cold made it almost impossible for them to do anything for themselves, but they tried. George and local mechanic Mike Macdonald used a snow shovel to try and dig vehicles out.

Mrs Mackenzie and the other women in their two car convoy were taken to Grantown on Spey, while the men arrived a couple of hours later having managed to dig their cars out and return back the other way.

"We came back in Monday morning, returning via Inverness," she said. "It was a good trip because our gymnast Amy Macdonald had won a gold medal. I bet that's a competition she won't forget in a hurry."

Later that evening and due to the gusting and drifting snow and worsening conditions, Northern Constabulary made the decision to close the A9 Inverness to Perth and the A939 Grantown to Forres road and some other routes.

Meanwhile, three vehicles and drivers from the Highland 4x4 Response Group were also working to help keep motorists moving.