Video: Landslide crashes down into house

DOZENS of residents were this afternoon told to evacuate their homes after landslides hit a town.

Letters were delivered to people living in 65 homes near the Bervie Braes in Stonehaven.

Residents in New Street and Castle Square were sent to St Bridget’s Hall and asked to stay with relatives or spend the night at nearby Mackie Academy.

The move followed a landslip at the Bervie Braes today which hit the back of Invercarron Cottage in Stonehaven.

Mud, rocks and turf crashed down at 6.15am .

Owner Richard Barnes has evacuated the property with his partner.

Stonehaven councillor Wendy Agnew said: “There are 65 homes we are concerned about. It is a precautionary measure.”

The incident came just a month after another landslip threatened C-listed Invercarron Cottage.

Mr Barnes, 53, a senior lecturer at Robert Gordon University, said he and his partner Noel McDonnell, 40, had heard the landslide.

He said: “As soon as we heard the glass break we knew what had happened.

“Mud and dirt went through the window and the back of the house.

“But the important thing is nobody was hurt – a house can be replaced.”

This week dozens of worried residents demanded action at a meeting in Stonehaven to discuss an emergency evacuation plan.

But people living in the path of the potential landslides wanted another meeting on making the cliffs safe.

Aberdeenshire Council is not responsible for the Bervie Braes and wants £5.7 million from Holyrood to stabilise them.

dewen@ajl.co.uk

read our digital edition now