EXCEPTIONAL RAIN on Tuesday night and into yesterday morning brought flooding problems to householders in Carnoustie, as drainage ditches overflowed into driveways and gardens and the Barry Burn became a muddy torrent.

The worst affected area was in Macdonald Smith Drive where firefighters, police and Tayside Contracts staff sent to the scene by Angus Council went to the aid of householders in nine properties.

Although the rain had stopped, water flowing from the saturated fields and roads prompted fears that the levels would rise again as the tide came in, but these fears were not realised and the situation gradually returned to normal.

Elsewhere in Carnoustie, sections of Thomas Street and Ravensby Road were closed to through traffic due to deep surface water and Tayside Contracts staff left pallet-loads of filled sandbags at strategic locations so householders could try to protect their properties.

The Wellbank area was affected by groundwater and there was flooding on the A92 at Inverkeilor, both of which were cleared as yesterday morning wore on.

Over the rest of Angus, roadside drains coped well with the downpour. Burns and rivers across the county rose significantly but stayed within their banks.

Most Carnoustie residents were left counting their blessings that things were not a great deal worse.

Richard Elliot, who lives in Macdonald Smith Drive with his wife Carol and daughters Grace (2) and nine-month-old Libby, said, “At its height, the water was just short of coming in through the front door and the back garden was under about five inches of water.

“I would say it has been more of an inconvenience than a disaster and everyone has been quite lucky that more damage hasn’t been caused.”

Around the corner, Karen and Denis Noble and their sons, Calum (11) and Ewan (5), were wakened by neighbours to find their drive and front garden underwater.

Karen said, “We’ve been quite lucky because the water hasn’t actually got into the house but it remains to be seen what has happened under the floor.”

Gail Gibb and her daughter Louise, whose house is one of those lying nearest the drainage ditch, were not so lucky as some water entered their home.

Louise said, “The water just came over the step and no more but it was enough to flood the hallway and further into the house so I’m pretty sure there will be some damage to the floors once they start to dry out.”

Fre and rescue service crew manager Robin Marshall, in charge of operations at the scene, said, “The rain going off when it did helped a lot, and although the Barry Burn itself is still very high it’s running freely and carrying most of the water away.

“The problem is the drainage ditches which are actually flowing away from the burn and spilling out into a relatively restricted area concentrated on Macdonald Smith Drive.

The Forfar and Kirriemuir areas experienced heavy overnight rain, but apart from very localised flooding, escaped the problems affecting other parts of Tayside and Fife.

Meanwhile, Dundee escaped the worst of the flooding, though the city was not left entirely unscathed.

Firefighters were called to a bar in the Seagate area after its cellar was flooded yesterday, though business continued as usual at The Gauger while firefighters pumped water out of the pub basement.

Licence holder Maureen Glennie said, “I didn’t go down to the cellar until about 1pm this afternoon and the water was up to my knees.

“The fire brigade has been so helpful, though, and there doesn’t seem to be any damage done.”

The Brooksbank Centre on Pitairlie Road was also flooded and several events due to take place as part of the Midlin Gala were cancelled or postponed.

Flooding was also reported on busy city streets such as Dens Road and in St Vincent Street and Ferndale Road in Broughty Ferry.