An Angus harbour couldn’t be sealed off during this week’s vicious storm because anglers refused to leave, The Courier has been told.
Angus Council confirmed a safety barrier at Arbroath Harbour had to remain open overnight on Monday because cars belonging to people fishing along the breakwater would have been trapped on the pier.
Concerns were raised earlier this week after harbour workers reported vehicles attempting to drive down the quayside despite huge waves crashing over the harbour wall.
It has now emerged that the anglers’ refusal to leave was the reason for the access being left open in such extreme conditions.
Arbroath councillor Bob Spink said he was ”absolutely aghast” that people had chosen to ignore the safety advice issued.
”This shows a lack of respect and a total disregard for the dangers that have been there since I was a lad,” he said. ”Each of these waves weighs many tons and people don’t realise how dangerous it is to take vehicles down there it’s just plain silly.
”I remember instances where cars have been washed into the harbour or just about flattened by waves coming over the wall.”
A council spokeswoman said harbour staff had been unable to close the barrier on Monday night as motorists would not have been able to remove their vehicles until the following morning.
She added: ”The barrier was closed at 6.30am on Tuesday morning when the harbour staff started work, as there were then no vehicles on the quayside.
”There is a disclaimer notice at the barrier stating that members of the public who go along the road at the west breakwater in adverse conditions do so at their own risk.”
Jim Smith, co-owner of local business Inchcape Marine Services, regularly uses the harbour and said the anglers’ behaviour was unacceptable.
In addition to vehicles driving along the pier during the storm at the start of the week, there were reports of groups of young men standing on or near the breakwater, attempting to dodge the waves.
The power of a storm swell was witnessed at the same spot in Arbroath two years ago, when two men narrowly escaped after their works van was smashed by a huge wave.
The van, operated by local firm R.S. Joinery, was on the road alongside the breakwater of the town’s outer harbour when it was struck by a mass of water crashing over the sea wall.
The force of the water shattered the windscreen and caused significant damage to the bodywork and roof, and also spun the van through 90 degrees.
Both occupants escaped to safety through the smashed window, but the massive breakers swept the van into the harbour and it eventually had to be recovered by a crane.