Western Isles: Council told improvements have to be made. Pic: © STV Western Isles Council has been told to make "significant" changes after a "disappointing" audit. A report published by the Accounts Commission says Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has made slow progress over the last five years. The commission carried ...
NewsStorms: Severe weather hits parts of Scotland. Pic: © STV Hurricane-force winds reaching speeds up to 85mph battered the north of Scotland overnight. Gale-force winds, rain, hail and lightning were all experienced by people in the north-west, particularly the Western Isles on Thursday afternoon and overnight. Weather forecasters are warning that more stormy conditions can be expected over the weekend with the chance of flooding and damaging winds. On Thursday Lorna MacDonald, 26, died when her car plunged into a loch in Harris, when winds were at their strongest. The independent weather station at Eorpoie on Lewis recorded hurricane winds of 85mph overnight. The strength of the gusts were so strong some of the recording equipment blew away. Station owner John Gray said: "I've lived here for 13 years and I have never seen much lightning. There was lightning...
NewsLorna MacDonald: Died when her car plunged into the loch. A speech therapist has died after her car plunged into a loch during high winds. Lorna MacDonald, of Stornoway, ended up in the water after her car came off the road on Harris. Police, firefighters and the coastguards managed to free her from the wreckage in a major rescue operation around 4pm on Thursday. Ms MacDonald, 26, was...
NewsFlooding: Results of South Ford Hydrodynamic Study to be announced. Pic: © STV The results of a coastal study commissioned in the wake of storms which claimed the lives of a family of five will be revealed to residents in the Western Isles. Savage storms in January 2005 claimed the lives of five members of the Macpherson family and caused widespread damage in South Uist and Benbecula. Coastal erosion and flooding has been an ongoing concern...
NewsLifeboat: Rescue operation launched after fishing boat capsizes. Pic: © STV Crew of a fishing boat that capsized in the waters close to the Western Isles have been rescued by nearby fishermen. The two men, aged 25 and 31, had been in the water for around 20 minutes when they were picked up by two fish farm ...
NewsRower: Mr Macdonald is planning a cross-Atlantic expedition in 2012. A broadcaster undertaking a charity rowing challenge had to be rescued after an oar broke halfway through his expedition. The coastguard said Niall Iain Macdonald, 37, a former TV and radio presenter, was rowing from Barra to Lewis for Children in Need when the oar snapped at around 3.10pm. He was left floating off north-west Uist, around halfway through his journey of about 100 miles. Stornoway Coastguard said that Barra lifeboat sailed to the scene and towed him to Leverburgh on Harris. Mr Macdonald set off from Barra at around 11.30am yesterday and had hoped to reach Stornoway in Lewis in time
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