CCTV footage shows horrific collapse of stone from Thurso building – owners say they are 'devastated' over incident
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The couple who own a Thurso building that saw tons of sandstone blocks fall from its roof say they are devastated by the incident - but so grateful that no one was hurt.
The roof of the former Clydesdale Bank building in the town's Traill Street collapsed suddenly in the early hours of last Monday.
Billy and Ann Brock have been converting the building, which they bought in 2021, into a hub for local micro-businesses.
Billy said: "Our goal was to create affordable spaces for traders to come and set up. It was well received within the community and the small businesses that call 15 Traill Street their home.
"With the help of HIE, we were in the initial stages of an internal renovation which would open the rest of the building for other like-minded entrepreneurs. As it is, we now must manage what has happened and hope we are able to put things back together and get the small business hub back up and running – the small businesses that reside within the Northern Vault need to trade."
He said he could not initially believe what he was seeing after being sent an image showing tons of sandstone blocks scattered on the street below the former bank on Traill Street and thought the photograph was a bad joke.
"The event was first brought to my attention at 6.20 in the morning with a photo sent to me on Facebook," said Billy.
"The picture wasn’t very clear and I thought someone had tried to play a trick on me using a filter to make it look like debris laying on the road. I was assured that the photo hadn’t been doctored and that the situation was real."
Billy was working offshore when the incident happened and said that his wife had "been amazing" for managing the majority of the disaster.
"I was devastated with what had happened, our world has been turned upside down," he said. "Ann visited the site and spoke to the police officer at the scene, and he explained what had happened.
"We are so grateful that no one was hurt or injured by this unpredictable event because that is something that would have broken us."
Billy said that Ann had worked tirelessly with the police, council and various contractors to help make the area safe and to get the road open as soon as possible. Traill Street was soon reopened for traffic and scaffolding was erected around the building last Thursday to make it safe. No more rubble has fallen from the roof cornice and, though remaining sections were deemed safe by a structural engineer, they were removed as a precaution. The couple say that the building was surveyed early this year with no signs of problems.
"We can only apologise for the disruption caused to people going about their daily business and for the trade lost to all concerned," added Billy, who says that his insurer is now assessing the matter.
"I would just like to thank everyone for your patience during this event, for the support in the community and for everyone who has helped with this unbelievable situation. Like I stated before, we are so grateful that no harm came to anyone."
CCTV footage from a nearby building shows the moment tons of sandstone blocks fell from the parapet of the former Clydesdale Bank. Various times have been posited for the incident occurring but the time stamp embedded on the video shows 1.47am – much earlier than initial reports which stated 3-4am.
On the Facebook page for the couple's business venture, Northern Vault, Ann had written: "We are both devastated that this has happened but so grateful that no one was hurt.
"We cannot thank Police Scotland, GMR Henderson’s, Bear Scotland, Caithness Scaffolding, the Highland Council and Fairhurst, enough for their quick response and utmost professionalism, and can only apologise to the public and businesses for the disruption. We would also like to thank all our families and friends for their help through this difficult situation."
Billy and Ann bought the former Clydesdale Bank building in October 2021 and started their new venture, the Northern Vault, in March 2022. The intention was to create a micro-business hub within the centre of Thurso.
The building is now partly occupied by Tracey Inkson Photography along with professional artist and jewellery maker Lindsey Gallacher. Lindsey recently posted a photograph online showing that her studio was undamaged after the incident.
