A 70-year-old Black Watch veteran has told of being forced to spend the night huddling for warmth in a recycling bin after being dumped at a Fife park and ride site.
Henry Stewart, of Dundee, was on his way to spend the festive period with friends in Malta, but missed his flight as he was instead battered by the elements on a stormy night in Fife.
The pensioner, only recently recovered from a heart attack, was making his way to Edinburgh Airport and boarded a bus to Ingliston, only for its driver to instead drop him at Halbeath.
The Halbeath site was in darkness and there was no connecting bus to Edinburgh until the following morning.
Uncertain of what to do, and having left his phone at home, he says he sought shelter in the best place he could find an unlocked recycling bin.
He opened a drawer and crawled inside, spending the night there in the freezing cold as near gale force winds howled around him.
Mr Stewart told of scavenging bins for fuel to burn, fighting to keep fish and chip wrappers lit in the strong winds until his lighter gave out.
Scottish Citylink has apologised for the error that saw him stranded and said the driver contracted from another firm had been interviewed and the “appropriate action taken” with regards his employers.
It also stepped in to book replacement flights and an extended overseas stay to ensure that Mr Stewart’s holiday was merely delayed, not cancelled.
Mr Stewart’s claims about his search for shelter are disputed by the firm, however, with a spokesman saying: “The CCTV footage of the park and ride facility on the night in question does not match Mr Stewart’s version of events.”
However, the firm also admits he disappeared from CCTV cameras for three-and-a-half hours.
Scottish Citylink said buses had come and gone during the evening without the pensioner approaching them for aid and that there had been a service the following morning that could have taken him to the airport in time.
Mr Stewart explained that he had been confused to find himself at Halbeath and disorientated by the dark and storm and said Citylink’s suggestion that he should have approached a disembarking passenger and asked to use their phone had not crossed his mind.
The pensioner, a retired butcher, also claimed he was told by the first driver he approached that none of the buses stopping during the remainder of the evening could take him to the airport.
He said: “I was supposed to be on my way to spend the festive period with friends in Malta but instead the driver just dumped me in the middle of a storm at Halbeath.
“It was freezing cold and the whole place was in total darkness. The strap on my holdall broke, wrapped around my ankle and tripped me up. I had a cut on my nose and thought I’d broken it.
“The wind was horrendous. The trees were bending like they were rubber and the wind was tearing through the covered stance.
“I went round the back to get out of the wind, found an open bin and crawled inside to wait out the night. That’s how it happened. Why on earth would someone make that up?”
The pensioner said that despite enjoying his holiday the entire incident had left him with a sour taste and he is considering further action.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Citylink said: “We are very sorry for the difficulties Mr Stewart experienced on his journey to the airport.
“This was due to an error made by a driver who was employed by a third party company which was operating on our behalf. We have raised the matter with the company involved and made clear our disappointment at the situation faced by Mr Stewart.
“We are pleased to have been able to make arrangements for Mr Stewart to enjoy an extended trip to Malta.”