A Dalbeattie couple saw the bottom floor of their house ruined after “horrendous” flooding on Thursday.
Liz and Ian Wilbur had to call in the fire brigade when water started coming into Kerr Cottage following torrential rain.
Firefighters spent several hours tackling the deluge at the Port Road property while the couple tried desperately to move things upstairs.
And Mrs Wilbur told the News they have never seen anything like it in the time they have lived in the house, with their neighbours also being flooded.
She said: “We have been here 14 years and never flooded.
“At eight o’clock in the morning it was fine. There was a little bit of water by quarter to nine and at 10am we had to ring for the fire brigade.
“At first they sent the Dalbeattie fire brigade, then they had to send for Castle Douglas as well because they couldn’t cope on their own.
“They were wonderful. They were very caring and sympathetic. The Castle Douglas crew left at five o’clock. The Dalbeattie lads sent for fish and chips so they must have stayed until about eight or nine o’clock.
“We also had someone bring a tractor from Shawhead who had a pump and a big, long hose. He came about half four and was with me until about half past two in the morning.
“We were sloshing about trying to get things upstairs – the water came up to my wellies and in the car park it was probably a little deeper than that. It flooded the shed and garage we have, the garden was flooded. It was horrendous.”
The Wilburs ran the three-storey cottage as a bed and breakfast business for more than a decade but decided to retire at the start of the year due to the coronavirus restrictions.
Mrs Wilbur added: “We lived on the lower floor when we had the business so there was a lounge, kitchenette and office on one side and a bedroom, bathroom and walk-in wardrobe on the other.
“Everything in there is ruined – settees, beds, office furniture, kitchen furniture and bedroom furniture.
“We stopped the B&B because of Covid or else I don’t know what we’d have done.
“The insurance assessors came on Tuesday and more were coming on Wednesday. Someone came on Saturday to rip out the carpets to try to alleviate the smell.”
