By Marjory Inglis, Jamie Black and Laurie Watson

TAYSIDE FIRE and Rescue was deluged by calls for help from businesses and householders in Dundee who helplessly watched flood waters rise last night.

Appliances were despatched to pump out premises as occupiers waded knee-deep in water.

Dundee City Council’s emergency planning officer was called in to arrange the distribution of sand bags in a bid to stem the flow.

Roads were turned in to rivers with the wheels of cars disappearing below the water.

Roseangle Mini Market was open for business when the deluge hit, creating a huge lake in front of it.

Pint-pulling was on hold at the Queen Anne Bar in City Road while firefighters pumped out gallons of water.

Watch manager Scott Macdonald, in charge of crew at the Queen Anne, said, “It was just that the drains could not cope with the volume of water coming down City Road and flowing back up into the premises.

“When the rain stopped the drains started to cope again and the water started to drain away naturally.”

It was a problem repeated at points across the city, in places swamped before.

The Seagate area was badly-hit, with the Bush Bar among those calling for help.

Cafe Options at the top of the Hilltown also called in the firefighters and their pumps.

Another team went to Broughty Ferry where the underpass at St Vincent Street was overwhelmed.

A spokesman for Tayside Police said they were inundated with calls about the flooding.

Long lane in Broughty Ferry suffered disturbance from flooding in the early evening, although the water subsided later.

A manhole overflowed on the Seagate and its cover had to be removed.

The police spokesman said, “We have had a lot of calls throughout the evening but Broughty Ferry and the Seagate are the only areas of specific concern.”

Residents at Ballumbie Castle housing estate raised safety concerns after roads were flooded.

The intense rain added to an ongoing drainage problem which residents claim is a hazard to children and motorists.

There have been consistent problems with drainage meant to carry water off the golf course into a nearby pond.

Stewart Milne Homes, developer of the site, promised home owners the system will be improved, but the residents are frustrated by a lack of action.

Colin McGinlay, of Hawthorne Grove, said, “This is unbelievable.”

He continued, “We have a committee on the estate and we have been in touch with the developers and they have said countless times they are going to fix it.

“They came and dug a hole and it looked like something was going to be done, but they just left it.

“The kids have already been playing in and around the hole and I’m concerned that they are going to be in danger as it’s filling up fast.

“Cars are having to drive round the roundabout at the front of the estate the wrong way as that is the only way they can go to avoid the lake in the middle of the road.”

The Tay Bridge celebrated its 40th birthday last night with the rain creating lengthy tailbacks during the rush hour.

There were queues on East Dock Street and West Marketgait, with a reported 20 to 30 minutes added to journeys to Fife.