An elderly Longforgan couple fear thieves will access their home or a car will crash into their garden as Storm Arwen has left their property wide open.
Six months after the extreme weather caused destruction across Tayside and beyond, Margaret and Ian Anderson say they have been left vulnerable and scared as they await repairs by Perth and Kinross Council.
Winds reached 90mph during the storm on November 26, which was quickly followed by storms Barra, Malik and Corrie, leaving devastation in their wake.
This included the Andersons’ garden, where three trees fell, demolishing their fence, hedge and summer house, as well as seriously damaging a shed.
They missed the couple’s home by inches, although outside pipes were damaged.
The fence and hedge were the only things separating their home from the busy A90 and nearby path.
They have been left exposed as they await the council repairs but the local authority says it is suffering a backlog of work due to coronavirus.
‘Very worried’
Mr Anderson, 84, is not fit enough to do the work himself as he has bowel cancer.
He said: “We are very worried that the garden is now wide open to anyone who could come in.
“It also means the cars and lorries are whizzing past at the bottom of the garden with nothing to separate them from us.
“It’s really upsetting us.
“Normally I would carry out the repairs myself but I’m just not able to any more because of my illness.”
Mrs Anderson, 81, said the experience has added to the stress they were already suffering due to her husband’s illness but luckily neither of them were at home when the trees fell.
She said: “Ian has bowel cancer and had gone into hospital two days earlier for a big operation.
“I was at home on my own but during the storm my neighbours had asked me to go across to be with them for a while.”
Mrs Anderson went straight to bed when she got home so she had no idea of the scale of the damage until the morning.
She said: “I couldn’t get out the back door.
“The trees were blown right into the garden.
“They caused a terrible mess which we are still waiting to be finally cleared up. The council dealt with the trees but we were left to repair everything else.
“Our insurance wouldn’t pay out because they said the damage was caused by the storm.
“This has just caused us a lot of worry and upset on top of Ian’s illness.”
Council contractors have since cut up the fallen trees but have yet to return to repair the fence.
The couple have been waiting patiently but say the final straw came when they received a letter from their local councillor Angus Forbes asking them to get in touch again in another month if nothing had been done.
Mrs Anderson said to make matters worse she contacted the council five years ago saying the trees were dangerous and needed to come down.
She said: “I was told they were fine.
“They obviously weren’t, as was shown when the storm hit.”
‘Considerable concern’
Angus Forbes, Conservative councillor for the Carse of Gowrie, confirmed no date has yet been set for repairs to be carried out.
“I have been helping Mr and Mrs Anderson with this issue since Storm Arwen,” he said.
“The council acted quickly to remove the fallen trees and following an intervention from me they also agreed to pay for the removal of other trees that Mr and Mrs Anderson were concerned about.”
He added: “My most recent discussion with the council has confirmed the work needs to be done but as of yet no date for this has been fixed.
“Mr and Mrs Anderson are totally exposed to the very busy A90 dual carriageway which is a considerable concern for them.”
Council apology
A council spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience to Mr and Mrs Anderson.
“Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic there is a backlog of repairs, which we are continuing to work through.
“We will undertake the repair to the fencing at our tenants’ home as soon as possible.”
‘Profound and prolonged hardship’: Demands to shield rural communities after Storm Arwen damage
Conversation