Storm Babet: Those forced to flee in Brechin won't be home in time for Christmas

Hundreds of families were told to evacuate in Angus as extreme rainfall and wind hit

Those forced to flee their homes in Brechin during Storm Babet have been told they won’t be back home for Christmas.

Residents in 400 homes in the Angus town were told to evacuate as Storm Babet brought extreme rain and wind to the region.

The River South Esk burst its banks, flood defences were breached, and evacuation centres were set up in Brechin, Montrose and Forfar.

A member of the emergency services helps resident Laura Demontis from a house in Brechin, Scotland, as Storm Babet batters the country. (Credit: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

At least two people in Scotland died during the storm, and another in Shropshire.

Now Councillor Gavin Nicol, who represents Brechin and Edzell on Angus Council, says those whose homes have been destroyed in the floods won’t be back home in time for Christmas in two months’ time.

Speaking on BBC The Sunday Show, he said: “It is dry now, but there is still contaminated sludge and silt, and that will take a fair bit of cleaning up.

“It will be an extensive time because it will take a fair bit of sorting.

“These houses won’t be ready by Christmas.”

Councillor Nicol added the “weather conditions are changing” and local and national governments need to look at new ways of tackling extreme weather conditions.

He said: “We could be doing more planting up in the Glens to restrict the flow of water, and controversially we could clear out the Esk, because a big gravel bank has built up there.

“That could be removed, but Sepa is against that [because] there’s salmon spawning and wild mussels.”

The Conservative councillor added: “We are hoping the First Minister will take pity on us and give us some more money for Angus Council.”