Dumfries and Galloway flood rescue family speak of ordeal

BBC News

A man who was airlifted from his flooded farm, along with his four children, has spoken about their ordeal.

Sam Kennedy-Moffat and his children, all under eight, were flown to safety after being trapped in the farmhouse beside the River Nith at Closeburn, near Dumfries, for about six hours.

Two holidaymakers in a nearby cottage were also rescued.

Efforts to reach them by firefighters and an inshore rescue team both failed.

The group was picked up by a Sea King rescue helicopter from HMS Gannet at Prestwick at about 19:00. Two dogs were also rescued.

Mr Kennedy-Moffat told the BBC they realised at about lunchtime that there was no way out by road.

"I realised by about half past one that there was no way out by road," he said.

"Just looking at the way the river had knocked the fence over and how quick it was coming over the top of the road.

"We switched all the electricals off and shifted everything electrical upstairs. We got the kids upstairs and got their feet dried and into socks and warm clothes and jackets."

The children's mother Niky was on the other side of the floodwaters, facing an anxious wait to be reunited with them.

"I was more concerned about the kids, wondered how they felt, were they scared? Were they all right?," she said.

"But as it turned out they were quite happy. They played with their toys and kept calm.

"They took water up the stairs, and the sweeties to make sure they had clean water and food. So they did good."

Three people were rescued by firefighters at the Whitesands in Dumfries on Monday night after they were cut off by the deep floodwater and rising River Nith.

Firefighters used specialised equipment and carried one of them to safety after the family was cut off in their upstairs flat.

Earlier, electricity in the area was cut off because of the rising floodwater in the Vennel and Whitesands.

With more rain forecast on Tuesday morning, police said further flooding and disruption was possible.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has more than 30 flood warnings in place, mainly in Tayside and the Borders, and the Environment Agency has eight flood warnings and 126 flood alerts in place in England and Wales, mostly in the south east and south west.

Met Office amber "be prepared" warnings for parts of Dumfries and Galloway and Ayrshire have now been lifted but yellow "be aware" warnings for rain remain in place for these areas and much of central and southern Scotland.

There is also a yellow warning for Northern Ireland.

Scotland's Transport Minister Keith Brown told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme it was hoped the worst of the flooding had passed.

"We are going to see additional rain coming in that's going to mean that the recession of the current levels of flooding we've seen in some of the main rivers will be stalled," he said.

"But by and large, all the rivers are starting to reduce, with the exception perhaps of The Tweed, which will take some time to disperse further downstream.

"But that will mean there may be some pressure points around the south west and in the Borders."

Torrential rain led to disruption in several parts of Scotland on Monday.

Homes were evacuated at Kirkconnel, in Dumfries and Galloway, and New Cumnock in East Ayrshire.

Flooding caused disruption on the rail network and several road closures.

Homes in Port Logan and Newton Stewart also had to be evacuated.

Meanwhile, a number of tenement flats in Dundee are still cordoned off after heavy rain caused a landslip.

A wall at the rear of the buildings in the city's Gardner Street also collapsed and a number of residents were evacuated from their homes as a precaution.

No-one was injured and engineers have been assessing the damage. The road is closed to traffic.