A Dundee business owner has been left in disbelief after her shop was flooded by neighbouring flats – for the ninth time.
Wendy Sturrock was forced to close her clothing boutique, Room 39, for several hours after water poured into the business on Thursday.
The water came from flats above the Stobswell store, managed by Hillcrest Housing.
The 45-year-old, who owns a number of businesses on Dura Street, said she “wanted to cry” when she saw the damage on Thursday, which included ruined stock worth thousands of pounds.
Wendy fears the recurring problem could force her to relocate the boutique, which opened in 2015.
She said: “When I walked in on Thursday I was greeted to the sound of squish, squish, squish.
“A brand new clothing order which had only arrived the night before was destroyed, so that’s £6,000 worth of clothes gone.
“This is the ninth time this has happened, it’s issues with two of the flats directly above the shop.
“The impression we’re getting from Hillcrest is that they aren’t interested about the impact this is having on the business.
“We can’t keep going on like this, it’s simply not sustainable.”
‘Duty of care’ for Dura Street flat tenants
Items for Wendy’s hair salon business were also damaged as they were stored in the basement of the clothing store.
Residents living above the shop reportedly told Wendy they have raised issues with leaking to Hillcrest.
Wendy added: “If this had been the first or even the second time the shop had flooded I would be a little more understanding.
“There should be a duty of care to maintain these properties for the tenants.
“The climate at the moment is extremely challenging and we’ve built these businesses up and brought footfall to the Stobswell area.
“If this continues we very well may have to look at relocating the businesses to another location.
“We essentially lost half a day’s trade on Thursday.
“Stock both for the clothing side of the business and the hairdresser was destroyed.
“Whilst my insurance company has been incredibly helpful I can’t say the same for Hillcrest at present.”
Hillcrest did not respond to a request for comment.
