John Gillan was a ‘loving husband’, his family said in a statement (Picture: Police Scotland/Alamy Live News
The family of a man who died in a crash as Storm Babet battered Scotland with fierce rain and winds have paid tribute to the ‘loving’ father.
John Gillan, 56, from Arbroath, a town 15 miles northeast of Dundee, had been driving along the rural road in flood-hit Angus when his van smashed into a tree.
Emergency crews raced to the scene at B9127 near Forfar at 5.05pm on Thursday but paramedics pronounced John dead at the scene.
In a statement released through Police Scotland, his family said: ‘We are devastated by the loss of John and the circumstances in which he died.
‘John was a loving husband to Gaynor, dad to Marc, father-in-law to Natasha, and grandad to Reygan and Finley. He was also a loving son to John and Moira, brother to Wendy and a loving uncle, son-in-law and brother-in-law.
‘John will be deeply missed by us all.
The crash happened on a rural road near Forfar
‘Thank you to family and friends for supporting us through this indescribably difficult time.
‘We’d like to request that our privacy be respected whilst we grieve for John.’
Police added there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding John’s death, which has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal, the Scottish prosecution service.
John is the second Scot to have been killed in Angus as Storm Babet wreaked havoc on the region, with the Met Office issuing a rare red weather alert as fast-rising floodwater posed a ‘risk to life’.
Wendy Taylor, 57, was swept into the Water of Lee on the Invermark estate in Glen Esk on Thursday.
The Perthshire businesswoman was described as a ‘ray of sunshine’ by her loved ones.
Thursday saw some of the worst rainfall during the days-long storm pound Scotland, with a month’s worth of rain submerging streets, sweeping farmlands clean and damaging railways.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said that by Saturday alone, 670mm of rain – about 26.4 inches – had fallen.
Last year, Scotland saw about 196mm, or 7.7 inches, in all of October.
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‘John will be deeply missed by us all.’
