A Moray taxi driver has described how he avoided being hit by a falling building by just seconds.
John Martin drove past the former Fleming’s Sawmill in Elgin a moment before a large section of the structure crashed to the ground.
The incident – caused by ferocious winds – forced neighbouring residents out of their homes until the following afternoon.
Mr Martin had been heading east along Linkwood Road from the Edgar Road roundabout just before the derelict building collapsed at about 11pm.
The A2B cab driver, who was on a night shift, said: “I was passing the mill just before it happened. The wall just came down in a ‘oner’.
“If I’d been one or two seconds earlier I would have been in among it and it would have been a different story – but these things happen,” he added. “You just have to get on with life.”
Linkwood Road was left covered with several tonnes of bricks and roofing materials after the incident on Christmas Eve.
Emergency services sealed off the road and used heat-seeking equipment to ensure there were no casualties under the rubble.
Neighbouring families were not allowed back to their homes until 3pm on Christmas Day, after a digger was used to pull down the most unstable parts of the building.
Some locals have called for the structure to be razed amid concerns that another storm could cause more of it to collapse.
Linkwood Road resident William McLarty previously said: “It really needs to be knocked down before it falls down.”
However, neighbours have praised police and Robertson Property, the Elgin-based building firm which owns the building, for the support they received in the aftermath.
No one from Robertson Property was available for comment last night.