The Brechin residents who have 'lost everything' in Storm Babet

Residents evacuated from their flooded properties during Storm Babet have said they fear they may not be back in their homes by Christmas.

Kim Clark was among those who stayed put in her Brechin home on Thursday night despite being asked to leave ahead of the red weather warning.

Another woman had only moved into her new home hours before being evacuated.

And a couple said they feared being trapped in their car by the flood before managing to escape.

Ms Clark told BBC Scotland News on Friday morning that she couldn't bring herself to leave her property when she was urged to do so the previous day, and was waiting on firefighters to rescue her.

She said: "We've no longer got a river, it's now in my garden and right into my house.

"River Street is now, put it this way, the river.

"The water is right in my house. It's come right up. I've lost everything."

Ms Clark took refuge upstairs with her son and dog while she waited to be rescued and said the water was reaching the top of her downstairs windows.

She asked emergency crews who were using boats to search flooded homes to rescue two elderly neighbours before returning for her.

Angus Council has said 60 households were rescued in the town in the early hours of the morning, while about 80 people had gone to special centres that were set up for evacuated people in Brechin and nearby Montrose and Forfar.

Meanwhile, Terri Masson said she was evacuated from her home in Brechin's Meikle Mill just hours after she had moved in.

Ms Masson, 33, had not even had a chance to make a cup of tea and unpack her belongings in the Angus town on Thursday before she was told by the council at about 16:30 that she would have to leave.

She asked friends from Montrose to come and collect her and was anxiously waiting outside her property on Friday morning for the all clear to go back in and collect items for her family.

She said: "I was in not even two hours and got told to evacuate. I hadn't even unpacked my stuff, nothing.

"I had just started to unpack and they came to the door and they were like, 'you have to go'."

The mother-of-five said she had to leave everything behind, including her youngest daughter's pram.

She added: "I knew Brechin could flood when the weather is bad but I've never been in the middle of something like this.

"It was scary for the kids - we got out as quick as we could."

Muriel Thomson decided to stay in her house in Mitchell Drive despite the red weather warning and risk of floods.

At 06:00 on Friday, the 78-year-old heard water coming into the garage next to her house and decided to evacuate.

She and her husband packed a bag and tried to drive to safety through the rising floodwater but their car got stuck.

Ms Thomson added: "We thought for a horrible moment we were going to get trapped in it because we could not get the doors open.

"It was quite terrifying. The car was full of water and it was freezing."

Ms Thomson, who has lived in the house for 28 years, eventually managed to get the car to safety.

She said she had decided to stay in her home because it did not look like the flood prevention would be breached.

Ms Thomson admitted: "I'm just horrified that I've been wrong. I fell asleep and we weren't keeping an eye on it."

Laura Demontis and her family also opted to stay but were left stranded in the first floor of their home, which was flooded downstairs.

They had no electricity and were awaiting rescue.

She told BBC Scotland News: "I woke up at 04:30 in the morning because there was a sound.

"I looked outside and said 'Oh my. It has happened'. I made the wrong decision."

Jakki Kennedy told BBC Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live she was evacuated as flood water started entering her house.

She also established, via her smart doorbell, that emergency services checked her home was empty as late as 23:00 on Thursday.

Her son returned on Friday with a pair of waders to survey the damage, which included carpets that were only laid two months ago.

Ms Kennedy and her two dogs are currently staying with her son and his wife.

She told the programme the flooding was the worst she had seen in the 26 years she had lived in the area and described videos of the devastation on social media as "horrific".

And she is not only counting the damage at her home.

Ms Kennedy said: "I have a caravan stored at Eastmill Caravan Park. That's gone as well."

Another councillor warned some residents may not be back in their homes in time for Christmas.

Gavin Nicol said the town's flood barriers were 3.8m high but the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) had warned the water could reach 5m.

He said: "With the amount of rain we're getting it might even supersede that. It's just a disaster. The water is not going down, it is still rising."

Mr Nicol, who also represents the Brechin and Edzell Ward, added: "My thoughts go out to those affected. With this time of year, it's coming up to Christmas, and some people might not even get back in their homes by then."

Elsewhere, Angus Council issued an urgent appeal for warm clothing on behalf of Brechin Rest Centre.

A spokesperson said: "We now have in excess of 40 adults who have arrived at the rest centre with only the soaked clothes they have arrived in."