Man dies after lorry and three vehicles crash on A9

A man has died following a crash involving a lorry and three other vehicles in Highland Perthshire.

Emergency services were called to the scene on the A9 near Ballinluig at about 08:15, including the air ambulance and fire crews.

Two people were taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

The road remained closed for more than 10 hours before reopening at 18:47, leaving hundreds of motorists stranded in freezing conditions on diversions between 26 and 36 miles long.

The northbound diversion was via the A822 at Dunkeld, then the A826 and A827 before re-joining the A9 north of Ballinluig.

Southbound traffic was diverted on the A924 to Bridge of Cally, A93 to Blairgowrie and then A923 to Dunkeld before re-joining the A9.

Police advised motorists to avoid the route if possible.

Writer Murray Watts was stuck in a long line of traffic on the diverted route for more than three hours as temperatures dropped.

He described scenes of “gridlock” with articulated lorries and coaches re-routed away from the A9 unable to pass each other on the alternative road.

Mr Watts, 71, who was driving to Perth from John O’Groats said it took almost four hours to travel from Pitlochry to Blairgowrie, a distance of about 24 miles.

But he said his main concern was those who may have been trapped there for a longer period.

“The diversion that was created was completely inappropriate,” he said.

“There were still hundreds of people haplessly trapped in freezing conditions when I eventually moved off and the worry is they will be stuck for many hours to come.

“Tragically, accidents happen all the time on the A9, but I have never been in a diversion where I have been sat there for hours without moving.”