Downpours leave homes swamped

❚ Houses flooded and roads closed ❚ Golf course left looking like lake ❚ Residents rally to battle deluge

Homes were flooded, roads were closed and a golf course left like a “boating lake” after heavy rain hit the north-east.

Flood groups set up in the aftermath of Storm Frank in 2016 sprang into action as torrential rain caused chaos in Ellon – with some residents being forced to flee their homes at 4.30am.

Calls have now been made for Aberdeenshire Council to do more to protect the town from future flash floods, which many described as the worst they could remember.

The areas of the town most affected were Meiklemill, Hospital Road and homes neighbouring Broomies Burn.

In Meiklemill, fire crews were called to pump water away from homes in Bruce Crescent and Barratt Drive and they helped dry out homes and garages, driving water down drains.

At the nearby McColl’s, manager Liam McHardy sprang into action to help.

He said: “When I first woke up, I just came down to get the container for the sandbags open so we could get as many as we could.

“There’s probably 100 of them and they’ve all been used.

“We normally open at 7am, but I came down at 5.30am just to start giving tea and coffee to the police and firefighters.”

That community spirit was strong in neighbouring streets, too, with residents of Provost Davidson Drive being woken up by a car horn and knocks on their doors to help.

Margo McDonald was helping clear up leaves and other debris from the street after the water had receded.

She said: “Neighbours chapped on each other’s doors, saying you better get up and help. It’s quite good, everybody mucks in together, but what else could 2020 bring?”

Neighbour Peter Brown added: “We’ve been here a long time, coming on 30 years now and I would have to say I haven’t seen it this bad. It has been close a few times, but not quite as bad as this.”

At the other side of Ellon, McDonald Golf Club, which has flooded a number of times in the past, was left under several feet of water.

Some parts were only identifiable as a golf course by the tops of the flags poking out of water.

Club administrator Sandra Brockie said: “We do not have a golf course, we have a boating lake.

“This is just what we need. Not allowed to drink in the clubhouse and now we can’t even take in any money with the golf course.”

She said the water – around five feet deep in some sections – would be gone in a couple of days, but it could be a week before the course was playable.

Ellon Primary School’s playground was also flooded, with water rushing through the gaps in a wooden fence backing on to Gordon Park.

Bill Gibb, from the Ellon Flood Resilience Group – set up after the River Ythan burst its banks in January 2016 causing widespread damage – was among the volunteers assisting with the response.

Residents living in the Meadows area, on the banks of the River Ythan, claimed little had been done to protect homes since the floods of January 2016.

The Meadows Flood Action Group was set up following the “disaster”. Group spokesman Allan Steele said: “We put a proposal to put a bund across the back of my garden for £80,000, which would deflect the flood that happened back into the river.

“The council said no. “Since then we’ve been trying to negotiate a sensible deal for flood prevention and solutions to the problem.”

North East MSP Peter Chapman echoed the calls and said it was “absolutely devastating” to see the extent of the flooding.

He said: “I know several people helped in the early hours with sandbags for the area.

“It’s fantastic to see the community pull together in such unfortunate circumstances.”

Aberdeenshire Council was contacted for comment.

Ellon Primary’s playground was flooded in the deluge.