Two elderly men were rescued after the car in which they were travelling was crushed by a tree in Inverness as Storm Gerrit battered Scotland on Wednesday.
Local businessman Nick Urquhart was on the way to get some milk when he saw cars turning and driving away on the B9006 road at Sunnyside, in Culloden Moor, at around 11am.
Mr Urquhart, 41, owner of mini digger operator Urquhart Groundworks Ltd, told the P&J he realised the reason cars were turning around was a tree that had fallen on the road.
He said: “I didn’t see the trapped car at first as the branches were hiding it and you couldn’t see the other side of the road.
“I didn’t see anyone attempting to clear the tree, so I thought I would go home and grab my chainsaw and my digger to clear the tree.”
The business owner continued: “I knocked on my neighbour’s door and he went straight to the scene with his chainsaw, while I ran home to get the digger.
Two elderly men rescued after tree crushes a car in Culloden
Mr Urquhart recalled that when he got back, his neighbour was there with another man who stays in a house nearby.
He was shocked when his neighbour told him there was a car stuck under the tree and that two elderly people had been pulled safely out of the vehicle.
“The two elderly gentlemen were sitting in someone’s car to warm up after the accident,” he said.
After making sure they were okay, the three local heroes managed to cut the tree and pulled the car off the road to let the queuing traffic pass.
Mr Urquhart added that the Highland Council and police arrived at the scene and finished cutting the tree and redirected the traffic.
The businessman said he was thrilled with the outcome of the incident.
“Everyone who was there did an excellent job and we’re all pleased that no one was hurt and that we got the road reopened,” he concluded.
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