A driver proved his company delivers “come hell or high water” after he got stranded in the Tay.
The man, who did not want to be identified, was driving his van across the causeway linking Moncreiffe Island to Perth when he became stuck in a deep pothole at about 10.50am on Monday.
He was then forced to wait more than an hour until a specialist tow truck was able to pull the Danscot van from the water. A soon as the vehicle was recovered, the determined driver continued on his usual round.
He explained how he tried to free his vehicle after it sank up to its axle in the fast-flowing river.
He said: “I was over for a delivery and as I came back over there’s a bit of the road missing, a big hole, and the front wheel’s gone in it and I’ve grounded out.
“I thought I’d be able to get it out I tried to put some stones underneath it but it was just spinning.”
He criticised the state of the causeway, which is thought to belong to the council and is the only vehicular access to Moncrieffe Island.
“It’s about a foot deep where the wheel is and the rest is about two inches deep,” he said.
“There was a boy just down here and he said he was here a couple of years ago and he had a problem with his van getting over and the council said they were going to fix the holes in it then.”
Danscot general manager Betty Marshall said it would be advising drivers not to use the causeway in its current state.
She said: “The drivers only use it for large deliveries, if it’s just small things they usually walk across the bridge.
“I think we probably will (stop our drivers crossing) and we’ll expect them (the customers) to come to get things because the golf club has a tractor and trailer, which is better than a van.”
She added the company was able to see the funny side of the incident.
“We are all joking about it,” she said. “We have a picture of the van and someone said to me: We deliver come hell or high water.”
A council spokeswoman said a report into the possibility of repairing the causeway had been prepared.
She said: “The Perth common good fund committee agreed in December 2012 to the production of a feasibility study regarding improvements to the vehicle causeway to Moncrieffe Island from Dundee Road.
“The council has now received the feasibility study and it is intended that a further report regarding the best way forward for the causeway will be brought back to the committee later this year.”