A holidaymaker says she has been left “heartbroken” after her caravan was destroyed by flooding in Aberfeldy.
Charmaine McColl, 54, was on holiday in Benidorm when she received news that, despite efforts, her caravan had been ruined by floods at Aberfeldy Caravan Park on Saturday.
It was the first year that Charmaine and her husband, George had left their vehicle at the park. She says the flooding will have cost the pair thousands of pounds.
The civil servant from Sauchie, near Alloa in Clackmannanshire, visited the van just last week before heading to Spain and she says everything they left there, including an expensive awning, has been “ruined”.
Caravan owners ‘devastated, annoyed and frustrated’
Charmaine told The Courier: “We are in Benidorm but we knew something was happening.
“We just got a note from a friend saying they tried but the caravan was left in the water.
“I am devastated, annoyed, frustrated.
“Our van was quite old anyway but a lot of people lost thousands.
“I don’t think enough time was given when warning; more could have been done to alert us.
“Everybody was trying to get everything out however they could.
“The van is sitting in four or five feet of water, it will be a write-off.”
Caravan owners felt ‘helpless’ as park flooded
Another couple affected were Shirley Baird and her husband Richard, from Grangemouth, who arrived at Aberfeldy Caravan Park on Friday night.
Shirley said the site flooded “within an hour” on Saturday as she and others rushed to save what they could.
She said: “Me and one of the other chaps went up about 8.30am and the river was high but nobody gave any inclination that anything was untoward.
“At the back of nine one of the other residents said water had started to come in.
“We started to take the awning down and within an hour the place was flooded.
“People were cutting awnings off just to get caravans of the site.
“A company called Breadalbane Storage told us not to worry about payment and to leave our caravans at their storage yard.
“A couple, Betty and Davie Campbell, told us to come to their home and they gave us showers.
“We felt helpless.”
Storage firm helped with evacuation
Oliver Romain, owner of local storage firm, Breadalbane Storage, helped out in the efforts to save some caravans at the flooded Aberfeldy Caravan Park.
He said he received five caravans before the flooding cut him off from Aberfeldy and offered free temporary storage.
He told The Courier: “A number of local businesses and residents, including caravan park residents, helped with the evacuation.
“Folk did their utmost to help, however, the river rose so quickly that it was not possible to save all the vans.
“It’s tragic that so many caravans and their contents have been lost.”
Tummel Valley Holiday Park closed
Tummel Valley Holiday Park has been closed after also facing flooding over the weekend.
A spokesperson confirmed that all guests left on Sunday and have been provided with a “gesture of goodwill” for cutting their holiday short.
They said: “The park is temporarily closed due to the adverse weather conditions over the weekend. The safety of our guests is our top priority – we are in regular contact with Sepa and will reopen when it is safe to do so.”
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