Four cars ‘spun off the road’ near Fairy Glen in Skye during a yellow weather warning.
A local claims two cars had to be winched out while two eventually managed to get back on Sheader Road, a single track off the A87, on Friday.
Freezing temperatures combined with rain and snow created treacherous conditions across the north of Scotland, with drivers told to think carefully about making journeys.
Scott MacKenzie lives on Sheader Road and says cars coming off the road is a “daily occurrence” due to tourists heading towards the Fairy Glen car park.
Hundreds of thousands of people visit the attraction each year, with local groups calling for funding and investment in infrastructure to protect the island.
Scott, 49, said: “It’s been a problem since it started to be advertised as a tourist destination, regardless of the weather conditions.
“Vehicles coming off the road is now a daily occurrence.
“This issue is simply, there’s just too much traffic.
“Residents raised the issue five years ago, we wanted to find ways of reducing vehicle numbers and the kinds of vehicles that came up the hill road.”
Dangerous road sees cars go off-track daily
Gamekeeper Scott said: “If you are one of the elderly residents in the Glen, then it can be miserable when the road is blocked.
“Carers can’t get to them, so imagine if one needed an ambulance, or if one of us needed the emergency services.”
“It can be a real pain just trying to get in or out the glen, many times we have had cars or campervans parked on our drives blocking us in.”
With children of his own, safety is a huge concern for Scott and his family.
Scott said: “It’s a dangerous road to walk now, my eldest three children all walked the road to the Fairy Glen to play in its magical landscape.
“That landscape has been destroyed by car parks and bulldozed footpaths.
“The volume of people has eroded the environment beyond recognition.
“My five-year-old will never know the charm the Glen once had – she will never be able to walk the road to call on friends to play.
“It’s too dangerous.”
MP reacts as cars face treacherous conditions on Isle of Skye road
MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, Angus MacDonald said: “The roads have been treacherous these last couple of weeks, with surface water, gale force winds and now freezing rain.
“Try as they might, the council gritters are struggling to cover the area.
“Drive very carefully is the only advice I can offer.”
It comes as a new weather warning for snow and ice was issued by the Met Office.
The Highlands, including Skye, will face further “difficult driving conditions” due to “icy stretches”.
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