Storm Babet: 'River Street will be no more, everything has gone'

A Brechin resident says he fears houses in his street will have to be pulled down due to damage caused by floods during Storm Babet.

Euan Clark, who lives on River Street in the Angus town, said his home had been "turned upside down" by the extreme weather last week.

The town was flooded after the River South Esk breached flood defences.

The first minister has pledged to provide support to the communities affected.

After returning to his home on Monday, Mr Clark told BBC Scotland News the flooding had caused "utter devastation".

He said: "It's just upside down. Everything has gone, pictures, just everything.

"You'll never be able to put that back together. I think they'll need to take down some of these houses.

"River Street will be no more, it's sad."

Angus Council 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.

Mr Clark chose not to evacuate but said he was awoken at 04:00 on Friday and could immediately hear the water inside his home.

As he put his feet out of the bed, he was met with a foot of water on the ground. He grabbed his dog and tried to get out of the building.

"I opened the front door and it wiped me clean out. I got up and tried to closed the door but I couldn't.

"I came out here and basically ran, well swam, for my life. It was up to my shoulders.

"If I was in there any longer, I would've been dead," he said.

Mr Clark met First Minister Humza Yousaf during his visit to the the area on Monday.

Mr Yousaf has pledged government support for the community, but didn't confirm how much financial aid would be provided.

The SNP leader said the government had already committed to providing £150m for flooding support over the course of the parliamentary term, on top of £42m given to local authorities annually to help with flood defences.

Local councillors have called for extra cash to help update flood defences, and to help residents refurbish their homes.

Some residents, like Mr Clark, have said they don't have home insurance due to high rates caused by previous flooding in the area.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live, Councillor Gavin Nicol said Angus council would need "extensive" financial support.

While he didn't confirm how much assistance they would require, he said it would be in the tens of millions of pounds.