December 8, 2011
Scotland

Turbine topples in gusts of wind; Coldingham wind gusts see houses evacuated

BBC News, www.bbc.co.uk 8 December 2011

Homes had to be evacuated and a road was closed after a turbine fell over in gusts of wind in the Borders.

The incident happened near Coldingham in Berwickshire on Wednesday.

The turbine had been erected but was not turned on and appears to have been unable to cope with gusts of up to 50mph.

The A1107 was shut from the north side of Coldingham, at the Croftlaws Caravan Park, down to Lumsden Farm and a 200m cordon was in place.

Lothian and Borders Police said the turbine had suffered a break system failure and had been “freewheeling”.

Local resident Billy Muir saw the results of the incident.

“The tip of one blade made it to within five metres of the road,” he said.

“We live 500m away but there are a few houses about 200m away.

“No-one was injured – it was dealt with by Lothian and Borders police.”