A Moray road reopened yesterday after a mammoth effort to clear masses of earth and trees which were sent surging across it by a landslide.
A crane was used to help remove 200 tonnes of material from the A920 route between Dufftown and Huntly, after hours of pounding rain caused a roadside verge to collapse on Thursday afternoon.
Work to clear the route lasted late into Thursday night, and resumed at first light yesterday.
Concerns were raised that further slips could slam into a family home at the foot of the verge, the perimeter of which had already been damaged.
But police confirmed the soil had been removed yesterday afternoon, and the road at Auchindoun, two miles outside Dufftown, was opened to traffic again at around 3pm.
Moray Council experts will now examine the hill to see if there is any hazard of another landslide in inclement weather.
The landslip was caused by the pouring rain, causing mounds of soil to collapse onto an unclassified road overlooking the A920.
The resultant pressure on the verge between the two roads created another slip which brought tonnes of dirt and trees crashing onto the Dufftown to Huntly route.
The material smashed into fencing and came to rest against a garage attached to the home, but missed the house itself.
The owner of the affected property said the landslide sounded “like a big lorry going past”.
Moray Council’s roads team first worked to clear material from the unclassified road, as they feared it would add mounting pressure to the verge which could cause more soil to slip onto the A920.
The men battled against lashing rain to clear the unclassified route on Thursday night, and created a channel down it to funnel water away from the hill.
Snow was covering the ground yesterday as workers recommenced work on clearing the A920.
Moray Council said an assessment would be carried out on whether more work was required at the rural spot to preventfurther landslides.
A council spokesman said: “The priority on Thursday night was to remove material from the gable of the house, and thereby relieve pressure on the building.
“Once that was done, it was decided to leave matters until first light on Friday.
“At that point the clearing-up operation got under way using an earth-moving machine and two lorries, which took the landslip material away.
“An assessment will now be made to establish whether any further work is necessary to stabilise the site.”