IT’S the kind of job when usually only heavy machinery will do. But for one contractor in Aberdeenshire, a little horsepower was all it took to clear storm-damaged trees. 

Using horses to extract windblown and clear-felled timber, Ecological Logging has helped the local council tackle the devastation left by storms Arwen and Corrie. 

With work well underway to remove damaged trees, the contractor, headed up by Simon and Katherine Lenihan, was drafted in to reach smaller, inaccessible sites as efforts continue across Scotland. 

Ewan Wallace, Aberdeenshire Council’s head of environment and sustainability, said: “This approach is being used on sites which are inaccessible to the commercial contractor or where we need to minimise any damage to our paths or bridges.

“It has also been used to very good effect where the affected trees are close to residential properties or were the flora and fauna is sensitive and would be adversely affected by the heavy machinery.”

Work has already been completed at Haddo and Aden country parks and is currently underway at Battlehill, Huntly and other sites across the country. The local authority says it will be autumn before the north east is finally restored to its previous state. The area was one of the worst-affected when storms Arwen and Corrie – with their 100 mph winds – tore through parts of the country towards the end of last year and earlier in 2022.