Weather hits beer deliveries in Scotland

Scottish breweries are struggling to deliver beer during the "worst winter in almost 50 years".

Yesterday locals got together in the freezing weather to try and rescue 150 kegs of beer from a lorry which slid off the road.

Gary Clelland, depot manager at Belhaven's Dumfries brewery, told the Daily Record that an 18-tonne truck, carrying 13,000 pints of beer, slid off the road near Monaivie in Dumfriesshire, in "horrendous conditions".

He said: "We've split the deliveries in half to make the lorries lighter. I've sent out the drivers telling them to be really careful and to take their time, not to rush, and if it's too dangerous, not to carry on. "

Rhonda Howitt, at Broughton Ales, in Peeblesshire, said they were snowed in after five inches of snow fell in just a few hours. Since only two staff made it into work, the brewery was unable to supply its supermarket customers.

Anne Gibb at the Cairngorm Brewery in Aviemore told the Daily Record it hadn't been able to reach Aberdeen customers due to the dangerous roads and was attempting to reach Glasgow today.

Meanwhile Andrew Fraser, brewer at Black Isle, near Inverness, said he was the only staff member who made it into work.

Last night, First Minister Alex Salmond said Scotland was in the grip of the worst winter in almost 50 years. He compared it with the blizzards of 1963. He said: "We have to keep the economy and the country moving."