Pitlochry High School provided a safe haven for two coachloads of snowbound OAPs during Storm Gerrit.
School janitor Graham Dick lives across the street. So when his bosses at Tayside Contracts called to let him know there were 82 travellers in desperate need of a toilet break, he sprung straight into action.
Graham’s wife Leisa, 42, is a dinner lady. So while Graham, 56, was opening the doors and turning up the heating, she and workmate Morven Morrison, 43, fired up the kitchens to lay on teas and coffees.
Head teacher Elaine Liney got in on the mercy mission too. She and her husband arrived to serve the weary travellers with biscuits and snacks.
The local bobbies also did their bit to help during Wednesday’s drama.
Leisa said it had turned a ghastly day into a real pleasure.
“They were all so happy with us” she said.
“And it was nice to be able to help people at a time like that.”
Storm Gerrit brought A9 to standstill
A “major incident” was declared on Wednesday as Storm Gerrit swept across Tayside.
Heavy snow in Highland Perthshire made travelling conditions particularly challenging and the A9 Perth to Inverness road was closed due to stuck traffic at Dalnaspidal and flooding between Dunkeld and Ballinluig.
Motorists were told to stay in their cars. But Leisa said many of the bus passengers were in their 70s and 80s and were grateful for a more comfortable rest stop.
“They’d been staying in Kingussie and were trying to get home,” she said.
“Some of them said they were trying to get to Leicester, but they’d been stuck for about six hours without a toilet break.”
No one from Tayside Contracts was available to comment.
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