FLY-TIPPERS are being blamed for the A8 at Port Glasgow being closed by flooding at the end of December during Storm Frank.

The trunk road was plunged into chaos on December 30 when the dual carriageway was deluged and shut at Newark Roundabout in Port Glasgow, East Hamilton Street in Greenock and at the railway bridge in Langbank.

Inverclyde Council roads chiefs say an investigation has shown the roundabout was flooded because a culvert was completely blocked and the Bouverie Burn overflowed.

A council report has revealed: “Although there was a significant amount of silt and gravel that had been washed downstream as a result of the torrent of water, the main cause of the blockage arose from fly-tipping.

“A discarded mattress, a number of plastic bread boards and settee cushions that had been washed downstream completely blocked the culvert.”
Staff from Inverclyde Council’s roads service were first called into action around 11pm on December 29.

The report stated: “Operatives and supervisors worked throughout the night in very difficult and, at times, dangerous conditions to clear blockages, drains, trees, etc., and were eventually stood down at 9pm on December 30.”

The council hired a specialised suction truck to help get roads re-opened, but it had to be utilised initially to clear flooding at Langbank before it could reach Inverclyde.

Motorists endured hours of misery stuck in traffic jams, and police were forced to divert them on to side roads.

It was the second time in December that the A8 had been hit by flooding, and it prompted Depute Provost David Wilson to claim that the road was not being maintained properly by the Scottish Government.

A spokesperson for government agency, Transport Scotland, said the problems were caused by extremely heavy rainfall and that their operating company, Scotland Transerv, continued to take the necessary steps to prevent this from happening.

Transport Scotland added: “There is a historical issue in this area with water from water courses and local authority roads, and we are currently in discussions with Inverclyde Council and Scottish Water to agree mitigation works to help address this.”