Stranraer harbour safety barrier struck pedestrian

The Health and Safety Executive called for a "fundamental review" at the harbour

A barrier installed to improve safety at a south of Scotland harbour struck a pedestrian.

Work was carried out at Stranraer after inspectors raised concerns about the interaction between traffic and people on foot in the area.

The person involved did not report the incident but it was witnessed by another individual and caught on CCTV.

Dumfries and Galloway Council said it "very much regrets" the accident and has carried out an investigation.

The Health and Safety Executive visited the area in February last year and highlighted a range of issues.

It called for a "fundamental review" of safety after it found vehicles parked "randomly" on the quayside and taxis three abreast outside marked parking areas.

'Snagging issues'

One solution to address their concerns was the installation of an automatic safety barrier to allow access only to authorised vehicles.

It was installed in July but suffered a number of "snagging issues" but is now said to be operating effectively.

The incident in which a person was struck happened on 15 September when the pedestrian followed a car passing through the barrier and was struck as it lowered.

Another person contacted the council and CCTV footage confirmed the accident had taken place.

The council said it had conducted an investigation and has come up with improvement options to ensure there is no repeat of the incident.

A guardrail could be installed to avoid pedestrians taking a short-cut which misses the detector which would have prevented the barrier from lowering.