Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dura Den flood victim gets present of birthday tea at home with family

Post Thumbnail

An elderly woman whose house was devastated by a flood had the best birthday present she could wish for when she celebrated in her own home.

After all the stops were pulled out to ensure her safe return, Pamela Sabet (76) was back home in time for her birthday tea.

Mill House, where she lives with daughter Louise Hughes and four grandchildren, was among the worst hit when the Ceres Burn burst its banks during a heavy downpour in October and raged through Dura Den in Fife.

Luckily, Pamela, who has severe dementia, was receiving respite care in a home in nearby Cupar at the time, as Louise was on holiday in Florida. Grandson Storm Hughes (21) was home alone, but escaped unscathed.

However, the dangerous condition Mill House was left in meant Pamela had to remain in care.

Fearing that the longer she was away, the more likely she would forget where she came from and never be able to return, her family set insurance claims aside and put all their energy into getting her back.

Louise said it was “fantastic” to have her mother home for her special day, adding: “It”s a huge relief. She is ecstatic to be home.”

As Pamela, whose downstairs bedroom was completely destroyed, receives care, the property needed to pass risk assessments before she was allowed back.

The garden was buried by rubble from the collapsed road and gable wall of the house next door, the driveway blocked by trees and boulders and huge chunks of land washed away.

Louise said: “Due to the nature of insurance claims and the time it takes to progress these, as a family we made the decision to bypass all of these and concentrate on the work required to pass the risk assessments quickly, not only to bring her home but to allow her care workers back on to the property.”

Meetings with councillors and council officers resulted in a contractor clearing away hundreds of tonnes of boulders and debris and ensuring the banking and driveway was safe.

Barricades were provided by the council to make a safe walkway to the house for Pamela and her carers.

Louise said: “We count ourselves very fortunate and only hope the poor people suffering in all the floods around the country last week get through it as quickly as we have.”

cpeebles@thecourier.co.uk