Winter flooding

Heavy rains over the weekend caused widespread localised flooding, threatening homes and businesses, with emergency services being called out to the numerous incidents.

Arran was hit by the first heavy floods of the winter last Friday night with several homes and commercial premises affected. Roads also became impassable and drains were unable to cope with the deluge.

In two of the worst affected areas, Whiting Bay and Lamlash, police and the fire service were called out to cope with a number of incidents. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended five residential and commercial properties through the night and into the morning.

A Lamlash resident, who shared the situation with users on social media, said police asked residents to avoid driving in the affected areas unless necessary.

The problem, she stated, was not the depth of the flooding but that the buildup of water lifted the tarmac in the road in front of the Pierhead Tavern in Lamlash, making driving dangerous. Whiting Bay was described as being ‘impassable’ and the coast road described by another user as ‘horrific’.

In Brodick, outside Arran Active, an area particularly prone to seasonal flooding, especially when combined with a high tide, flooding was reported with seaweed and debris still visible in the morning.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it had been called to ‘a number of flooding incidents on Arran’. A spokesman said: ‘A short and heavy downburst of rain affected several communities on the island’s east coast, particularly in the Lamlash and Whiting Bay areas.

‘At 10.18pm, we were called to Shore Road in Lamlash, where we used sandbags to divert water which was affecting a ground-floor property. A further two call-outs were received in the Whiting Bay area, with flooding at a commercial property and at the rear of a house.

‘At 1.25am, we were mobilised to another incident on Shore Road, where water was entering a commercial property. We received a final call-out of the night at 2.03am to excess rainwater at a home on McKelvie Road in Lamlash. No injuries were reported.’

Local senior officer for North Ayrshire James Scott said: ‘This was an unusually sharp downburst of rain that our crews were able to deal with quickly and effectively, despite the high number of call-outs over a relatively short time period.

‘We worked closely with North Ayrshire Council and Police Scotland to ensure the safety of local residents and minimise the risk to property.’

A spokesman for the council said: ‘Following very heavy rain on Friday night and Saturday morning, localised flooding occurred at a number of locations and the roads team responded to clear the areas affected. However, while flood water affected the road, no roads were closed as result of the poor weather.

‘Our team attended issues at Middle Road and County Carpets in Whiting Bay. They also attended to flooding adjacent to the Pierhead Tavern, Lamlash, and Arran Active in Brodick.

‘We will be investigating ways to alleviate the problem adjacent to County Carpets, Whiting Bay, and we may carry out some drainage works in Middle Road to resolve this situation.’