Swinney urges Scots to ‘remain vigilant’ over wintry weather

First Minister John Swinney has appealed to Scots to “remain vigilant” over wintery weather as he met some of the workers involved in tackling severe snowfalls.

With Scotland’s north east having been hardest hit over recent days, the SNP leader travelled to Aberdeen to personally thanks gritter operators, transport depot staff, police and other workers who have been involved in helping keep the main road network open and safe.

His visit to the AWPR/B-T depot came as further weather warnings for snow and ice were issued for Scotland for the weekend.

A Met Office yellow warning for snow and ice covers most of Scotland from midday on Friday through to 3pm on Saturday.

A similar yellow warning is also in place between 2am and 3pm on Sunday, while a band of snow moving over Scotland and northern England could cause more travel delays and disruption.

The latest warnings come as some schools in Scotland remained closed for a fifth day on Friday as a result of the wintry conditions – although the main routes in the north and north-east have now been cleared.

The First Minister said a “period of intense weather” had hit the north and north-east of Scotland, as well as the islands, over recent days.

He said he had wanted to “come to see first-hand the impacts of the winter weather, and to express my thanks to those who’ve worked so hard to keep the transport networks operating and to make sure that support for individuals is available within the community”.

Mr Swinney continued: “It has been a really challenging period for everybody and I thank members of the public for their patience and support.

“Those who have been working very hard to clear the transport network, whether that’s on the roads or the rail network, have done an incredible job to deal with intense periods of winter weather. And as a consequence, have done a tremendous service to people in the north-east of Scotland and in the Highlands and islands.

“I am very grateful to them for that work, and I recognise the scale and the intensity that has been put into making sure that the public could be safe, and that impacts could be minimised.”

With the further weather warnings in place, the First Minister added: “In the days ahead I would ask members of the public to remain vigilant about the weather conditions, to pay attention to all of the warnings and to adjust their plans accordingly.

“When winter weather comes, it is likely to cause some disruption – but I give the public the reassurance that we’ll do everything that we can to prepare for and to manage the various incidents that we have to face.”

The Scottish Government’s resilience room is monitoring the situation, with Mr Swinney saying ministers will continue to work with local councils and others in a “co-operative and collaborative approach” to try to minimise the impact the weather has on the public.

He stressed: “All of that co-operation is essential in making sure that we use the resources at our disposal to support the areas of the country that are most intensely affected by the winter weather.”