Fife weather: Tuesday evening update '“ region still on road to normal service

Fife Council said it is still working to get the region back to normal.

More snow in some areas and persistent rain in others have meant that efforts to remove snow and clear pavements were hampered.

Some areas have seen flooding, and sandbags have been delivered to those affected.

A large number of roads have been affected by flooding today and some still remain closed.

Schools have re-opened, although Park Road Primary closed when the playground flooded, and pupils were sent home from Buckhaven Primary after a power cut in the area.

Most school bus services will return to normal. There are 12 services with changes to the route and/or pick up points to enable safe passage. Schools affected are Anstruther, Balmerino, Commercial, Crossgates and St Margarets. Primaries, and Bell Baxter, Glenwood, and Lochgelly High Schools.

Carrie Lindsay, executive director of education and children’s services ,said: “There was a tremendous effort put in to getting all our schools back open today and many of our staff were working well into the night to make sure that could happen.

“It will have been a huge relief for most parents to finally get their children back to school today, but I’m aware that for others we were still not able to make that happen.

‘‘School transport issues and the condition of some roads meant that we could not get all the children to school today, particularly in our high schools. These have been quite exceptional circumstances and the size and variety of school catchments in Fife, taking in some very rural communities, make arrangements like these even more difficult.

“I’d like to say again that this could not have happened without thousands of people, both staff and communities, going above and beyond what could be reasonably expected of them. Their strength and support is one of our greatest assets and something that is frequently commented on in Fife school inspections.

‘‘I know it is this strength and support which will help our schools as they return to normality in the coming days.

Park Road Primary will possibly remain closed tomorrow to allow a clean up.’’