Chaos as runaway meat truck wrecks nine cars

A FATHER has told of his lucky escape after his car was hit by a runaway lorry.

The refrigerated truck allegedly rolled down a hill and ricocheted off nine vehicles, causing thousands of pounds of damage.

Eyewitnesses claimed a man had been seen running alongside the vehicle shouting at people to get out of the way. Fortunately, no-one was seriously hurt.

Ian Smith, 48, was at the scene with partner Jackie and their five-year-old son Josh and had to slam his car into reverse to avoid a head-on collision. He said: "I saw the lorry coming towards us and I thought it was going round a bus that was blocking the road.

"But then my partner started screaming 'there's no driver in the lorry' and I realised how serious it was."

The lorry, which belonged to Scotch Premier Meat Ltd, was making a delivery in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, when the drama unfolded.

A 44-year-old man has been charged in connection with the incident and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal.