TRAFFIC THROUGH TOMINTOUL was brought to a standstill yesterday after a tractor overturned – leaving its driver requiring hospital treatment.
Bales of straw from the tractor and trailer owned by a local farmer were left scattered on the A939 through Main Street as a result of the accident – halting traffic through the village from 3.45pm until 7pm on Thursday evening.
Tractor driver Willie Fraser, 53, was rushed to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin where it has been reported he received stitches in a head wound.
Several windows of a house were smashed as the tractor’s trailer toppled, sending its load crashing into the home of an 82-year-old pensioner who was fortunately not at home at the time of the accident.
Damage was also caused to the wall of the former Tomintoul secondary school. The road was eventually cleared after several more tractors arrived to uplift the straw bales.
A police spokeswoman said that the road had been closed shortly after the accident and traffic redirected, adding that the road had been cleared by 7pm. The spokeswoman also confirmed that the tractor driver had been taken to hospital but his injuries were not thought to be serious.