Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has issued a safety call as storm clear up works get underway at Tyrebagger and Scolty forests, urging the public to avoid the areas and find alternative destinations.

FLS has said that heavy machinery is expected to be on site until late August and in order to ensure public safety, and the completion of the clear-up work as soon as is possible, visitors are being urged to stay away.

David Leven, FLS' East Region Manager, said: "The level of damage is so great that we are going to be working in these forests for months. Only once we have removed the storm damage will we be able to assess the trail network to see what remedial work is possible.

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"It is really important that visitors find different forests to go to. Our machine operators won't necessarily spot or hear anyone who disregards the safety advice – and they certainly won't be able to react in time if dogs that are off-leash run into the work area.

"As we have said before, anyone who wanders on to the site only ends up delaying things even more as we have to stop all work, speak to the person involved and wait until they leave the site before we can resume.

"The safety cordon is set much wider than the immediate work area because of the risk of 'chain-shot'. The harvester heads on forestry machines are chain driven and operate at high speeds. Occasionally, chains can break and links can fly off in any direction with the force – and equivalent impact – of a bullet.

"Regrettably, our warnings about the dangers of storm damage over the last few months have been regularly ignored. Having heavy machinery on site only increases the level of risk so it's imperative that people help us out by heeding our advice.

"We appreciate that it is a small inconvenience but we would like to thank everyone in advance for their cooperation and understanding."