Evacuation near Donald Trump golf course as police establish 'security cordon'
Households next to Donald Trump's golf course in Aberdeenshire were temporarily evacuated this afternoon in a security scare.
Police Scotland erected a cordon around an entrance to the Menie Estate while precautionary checks were carried out on a vehicle.
The Record spoke to one local resident who said she has been "abruptly" ordered to leave her cottage in the village of Balmedie, despite still being dressed in pyjamas.
Stephanie McAllister, 38, said she was surprised by the instruction and lives yards from Donald Trump's golf club.
The mum-of-one was left standing outside Old Aberdeen Road in Balmedie while the US President prepares to depart Scotland and fly back to Washington DC.
Part of the road is closed, with golf course staff and security officers pushed back beyond road barriers during the incident.
Stephanie said: "A man forced us to leave the house. it was really abrupt.
"I'm not happy about it. People deserve to know what's happening. I've held my tongue."
Police vans have blocked the main road past Trump International Golf Links in the last half hour amid rumours of a bomb squad investigation.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Shortly after 3pm, a security cordon was put in place at an entrance to the Menie Estate, Aberdeenshire, as officers carried out precautionary checks on a vehicle.
"This search has been completed, there was no criminality and the cordon has been removed."
It comes after Donald Trump and John Swinney bonded over breakfast earlier as the First Minister urged the US President to reconsider his imposition of 10 per cent tariffs on whisky.
Scotland's national drink makes up a quarter of the UK's food and drink exports but distillers are already losing £4 million a week as a result of the Republican leader economic agenda.
Trump and Swinney met in person for the first time on Monday evening when they sat next to each other for a beef dinner at the President's golf resort in Aberdeenshire.
Scottish Government sources told the Record the two leaders were in conversation for more than an hour and "discussed at length critical issues such as whisky".
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