Bill Hamilton, 68, was trying to assist residents whose houses were hit by flash floods in the Inverness village of Smithton when he fell, hit his head and disappeared from sight into a swollen burn. It appears he had been attempting to clear debris from a culvert trash screen.

STV has full coverage of this tragedy, including a video report.

Our condolences go to Mr Hamilton’s family and friends.

Residents at Freuchie Mill are delighted to see the completion of the culvert repair work at No 19. The sound of running water, the visible culvert pipe and the large hole in the garden was a source of ongoing anxiety and stress for many of the residents. 

The drainage contractor appears to have done an excellent job of fixing the damaged section of culvert pipe and reinstating the lawn, which should be back to normal in a few weeks once the grass starts to sprout some green shoots.

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Day one of the culvert repair work at Freuchie Mill draws to a close, during which much progress appears to have taken place.

 
Photos: Culvert pipe section before (left) and end of day 1 (right)

The damaged section, photo below, has been cut out and patched with a section of new culvert pipe, completed with a bead of cement around the edges of the repair.

 
Photo: Damaged culvert section 

Looks good so far.

Technorati Tags: culvert, Freuchie, Freuchie Mill

Contractors have started on the repair of the damaged section of culvert pipe at No 19, funded by the householder’s insurance company.

Photo: Repair work begins on the damaged culvert section 

The workmen expect it to take 2 – 3 days to complete the work, which includes replacing the pipe section, encasing the repair in concrete and filling in the hole.

Fingers crossed the heavy rain stays away for the next few days!

Technorati Tags: culvert, Freuchie, Freuchie Mill