Storm Arwen: Thousands of trees destroyed in woodland

Thousands of trees found on the outskirts of Aberdeen have been ripped down from the strength of winds caused by Storm Arwen.

The damage was caused by the high winds on November 26, which reached nearly 100mph in some areas of Aberdeenshire during the storm.

Aerial drone footage from Countesswells Woods, between Westhill & Kingswells, shows the extent of the devastating damage to the woodlands.

Forestry and Land Scotland has closed the woodland to the public as it carries out the clean-up operation.

Simon Hodgson, chief executive of Forestry and Land Scotland, said: “It is a mammoth task but we are slowly getting to grips with assessing the levels of damage and risk across all of the forests that we look after, including the 544 visitor sites and trails that we promote on our website.

“We do want to open trails as soon as we can safely do so and we are beginning to open up some forests but there are still many locations where the risk to public health and safety is high.

“That risk is only going to increase over the next few days with more high winds potentially dislodging hanging trees or blowing over unstable trees.

“Add in the increasingly wet or icy conditions and you have a dangerous and potentially deadly mix, so we would ask everyone to please observe any and all restrictions in your area.”