A Fife community worked together to help avert a potential disaster as the region was battered by adverse weather at the weekend.
Local people and golf club members stepped in when houses in Leven were in danger of flooding as Scoonie Burn backed up.
An enormous amount of sand had been pushed up the burn as high tide blocked the river mouth on Sunday.
Local councillor Colin Davidson said that without intervention the situation could have affected much of the town.
“It backs up all the way through Scoonie and houses at the entrance to the municipal golf course are the first to get flooded,” he said.
“It wasn’t just a case of clearing the burnmouth, it had to be cleared all the way back.”
The Labour councillor praised members of Leven Thistle Golf Club, who joined householders to dig sand from the freezing water.
“Local people and members of the golf club were helping avert a potentially serious problem with flooding,” he said.
“They managed to resolve the situation. If they hadn’t done it there and then the houses could have flooded out at high tide on Sunday night.
“I can’t praise them enough.”
The next day Fife Council stepped in to carry out a more extensive excavation of the burn in a bid to ensure it was kept free from blockages.
“The council is fixing it properly but if it hadn’t been for these people we would have had a potential catastrophe on our hands,” Mr Davidson said.