Mother and daughter 'lucky to be alive' after landslide

A mother and daughter say they are lucky to be alive after escaping their car moments before it was swept away in a landslide.

Fiona and Kiera Smith, from Campbeltown, were travelling on the A83 in Argyll on Saturday when their car became stuck on rubble.

A police officer who had come to help suddenly told them to get out and run.

Kiera narrowly avoided being hit by rocks as tonnes of mud and debris came down the hillside.

The pair had been travelling to Ayr for a birthday celebration, when their car became stuck near the Rest and Be Thankful.

When the police officer approached, they initially thought their car was on fire.

The officer tried in vain to help them move the Vauxhall Zafira - then began screaming at them to run.

"Adrenaline definitely kicked in once I heard that landslide, it was probably the fastest I've ran in God knows how long. I'd ran past five cars by the time the landslide hit ours," Kiera, 19, told BBC Scotland News.

"Even whilst running a rock shot past my feet and head so even then we were still close to it all."

They made it out of the landslide's path and watched their car being washed off the road a short time later.

"We were definitely lucky and obviously still upset about it all but just happy to be here alive and able to tell the tale," she said.

"All my stuff and money for my birthday treat for my mum was gone which led to a weird numb sort of feeling like I wasn't sure what to feel after it all happened."

Kiera added: "I'll be being a lot more wary on that road now, so will my mum. She was even saying thank God my brothers weren't in the car with us because the youngest sits in the very back of the car which is behind the middle row of seats there would've been no way we could've got him out in time.

"My family have been saying to us just they're happy we got out and all the other stuff is replaceable but we aren't."

The section at the Rest and be Thankful, where the road passes through Glen Croe, is regularly closed by falling rocks and debris.

Ten people had to be airlifted from their vehicles after landslips caused by heavy rainfall blocked the road.

Contractors remain at the site clearing the debris but it remains unclear when the road will be reopened.

Do you have an idea for a story we could cover? Email our reporters: [email protected]