By Gordon Berry

FOUR CAMPERS from Fife were involved in a dramatic rescue on the Isle of Arran yesterday after they were caught in rising flood water.

Dave and Carolyn McAllister and their 16-year-old son Zac, from Burntisland, and Ross Parkinson (also 16), from Strathkinness, were all airlifted a short distance to safety after their tent was submerged by a swollen burn and some of their possessions were swept away.

They had been camping at Glen Rosa, and last night Ross spoke to The Courier as the group drove home after being forced into an early end to their holiday.

He said that they had woken up to find water in their tent, a feeling he described as like “lying on a water bed.”

“There was water flowing on each side of us, and another man who had been camping beside us tried to cross it, but the current was too strong.

“The owner of the campsite also tried to get across, but he also had to turn back. The water was chest deep.

“A navy helicopter was called out and we were winched up in pairs and taken to dry land.

“Just a few hours later the water had dropped and it looked as though nothing had happened, but when we went back across to where we had been camping we found that we had lost an expensive camera, clothes were ruined, and things were just strewn around.”

Ross said he had never been in a helicopter before, this was his first time on Arran, and he would not forget the experience. “It was all a bit daunting,” he said

He has just left Madras College in St Andrews and is about to start a computer games technology course at Adam Smith College.

The Royal Navy helicopter from Prestwick was scrambled to rescue the group from the flooded site when the alarm was raised at 8.20am. The whole campsite was evacuated a short time later, affecting another 18 campers.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said in a statement that the campers were located on an island that the swollen river had created. A number of other agencies were involved in the rescue, including rescue co-ordinators Clyde Coastguard, Arran Coastguard rescue team, Strathclyde Police and the ambulance service.

The campers, who were said to be “extremely cold and wet,” were sent to a nearby community centre to be checked over by medics, but no one in the group needed hospital treatment.

A police spokeswoman said that the campers were quite distressed when they rang in because they couldn’t cross over.

“The five adults were taken to dry land and there are no injuries. They all seem to be fine.”

A navy spokesman said the incident had been a “close-run event” as water levels had been rising rapidly.