By Aileen Robertson and Graeme Bletcher

FIFE COUNCIL has defended its handling of the asbestos incident in Fraser Avenue, Inverkeithing, on Wednesday.

Two residents claimed the local authority did not do enough to evacuate people from the affected flats as soon as it was known there was a potential health hazard.

However the council said steps were taken immediately to protect the safety of tenants and the public.

Twelve flats were evacuated after contractors working to replace a water tank in the attic of the block dislodged some brown asbestos.

Six households have been allowed back after their flats were found to be free of asbestos, but the others are spending the weekend in hotels after being told all their furnishings and clothes have to be destroyed.

One young mother described how the drama unfolded on Wednesday and claimed the council put her safety at risk by not acting sooner.

Claire Wright (18) was lifted out of the window of her flat by fire crew, along with her son Levi and partner Brian Hellicar.

She said, “I arrived home at 12.30pm and there were lots of council people outside and in the loft doing work.

“I wasn’t made aware there was any problem and it wasn’t until 6.30pm when I was told they had found asbestos and would have to lift us out the window.”

Ms Wright said she has still not received a satisfactory explanation from Fife Council.

“Everybody in the blocks should have been told what was going on,” she said.

“They don’t seem to care about us, I’m terrified of heights and I was totally petrified.

“I was so upset that I had a panic attack.”

Another resident, Philip Paterson (49), said he returned to his flat just after 5pm and was not alerted to the problem until the evening.

Senior housing manager Alan Russell said the council had acted appropriately.

He said, “Staff were on site approximately 40 minutes after we were alerted to the situation at about 12 o’clock.

“At that point, we shut down the place. People in their houses were told to stay where they were and those who weren’t in were not allowed back in.

“The contamination was in the stairwell so we believed it was safer for people to be in their houses at that time.”

Mr Russell dismissed the idea that destroying items in the contaminated flats was an overkill. “If something went wrong and we had not followed the advice of the Health and Safety Executive then we would be libelled.”

The HSE yesterday gave the council the go-ahead for a round-the-clock clean up operation in the affected flats.

However, Mr Russell added, “Even so, it is likely to be several weeks before the properties are safe for the tenants to return, although ideally we would hope the tenants could be back in by Christmas.

“We hope to provide all those affected with fully furnished flats in the local area by next Wednesday.

“The households involved, which contain 13 people including five children and range from single people to families, will be spending this weekend in local hotels.

“Individually we are speaking to them to get them the most suitable accommodation until their homes in Fraser Avenue are ready again.

“The households are also receiving practical support to cope with this incident, including the offer of counselling.

“We are also trying to return essential personal items, such as money and medication, to the families as soon as possible.

“We are also working with Fife Constabulary to keep the properties secure during the clean-up.”