The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Great melt begins, but chaos just goes on
Thawing snow and heavy rain combine to cause huge flooding problems
Children had to be carried to safety as rising floodwater threatened their school in a seventh day of weather woes for Fife.
Parents lifted children as young as three and four on their backs and shoulders from Park Road Primary School in Rosyth.
Heavy and persistent rain combined with melting snow to bring flooding chaos across Fife, closing roads and causing damage.
Fife Council announced at around midday on Tuesday that the school and nursery would close and parents were asked to collect pupils.
Both the playground and streets surrounding the school were almost knee-deep with water.
Gardens of several nearby houses which regularly suffer from flooding were submerged.
Resident Annette Young moved into her Park Road home in April last year and saw her garden flooded for the second time.
After a neighbour alerted her to the rising water at 7.45am she attempted to barricade her gates with boards and HydroSnakes, a sandbag alternative.
She said: “They held for a while but then the gates burst open and they were washed away.
“I was told the water is coming up from the ground. I’m just hoping it doesn’t come up through the floor of the house.”
Her house looks on to the school and she watched as anxious parents waded with their children to safety.
She said: “They’ve been coming all morning taking bairns away.
“I spoke to one man who was carrying his daughter on his shoulders.”
There was also flooding at sheltered housing at Scooniehill Road and in other parts of St Andrews.
In Anstruther, the historic Mercat Cross was taken down for public safety after being buffeted by high waves over the weekend.
The structure was deemed unstable and temporarily removed for repairs and to prevent further damage.
Flooding closed several roads across the region, including the A921 between Burntisland and Aberdour at Starley Hall and the A955 at East Wemyss.
Numerous other routes were affected, including the B925 between Crossgates and Dunfermline and the B9157 Orrock Quarry road near Aberdour.
In Inverkeithing, Preston Crescent, Ballast Bank and the B981 Dales road north of the town were also hit.
Several Stagecoach bus services were diverted due to the conditions.
In other parts of the region, fresh snowfall caused further disruption and rural roads remained blocked or restricted by snowdrifts.
A spokesperson for Fife Council said: “All available staff are either currently involved in gritting on high ground where we’ve had further snow showers this morning, or dealing with extensive flooding on low ground.
“Where properties are under threat of flooding, we’re attending with sand bags. All our gully tankers are involved in clearing carriageway flooding.”
Environment agency Sepa had issued a flood warning.
It tweeted: “A combination of some persistent rainfall with snow melt means there is a risk of minor localised flooding in eastern parts of Scotland, from today through to Wednesday, with a focus on low lying land and roads.”