An electrician averted potential tragedy by plucking a newspaper delivery girl from rising flood waters.
Morgan Taylor, 16, feared she would be swept away as Commercial Street in Alyth became a torrent on Friday.
John Wheatley waded through 50 metres of thigh-high water to rescue her, hoisting her on his shoulders.
As the clean-up operation following the floods across Perthshire continued, the 22-year-old said: “She was frozen with fear because the water was very strong I was struggling to stand up myself. She was at risk of being swept away.
“I didn’t even think about it, it’s just what anyone would have done.”
Morgan became trapped after leaving a local shop on her paper round.
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She said: “The water was getting higher and higher. I was scared I was going to be swept away because cars were being swept past.
“John said he was going to carry me over and I didn’t know how he was going to do it.
“Then I was over his shoulder and all I could see was the water as he waswalking.
“It means a lot that there’s someone out there who would do that.”
Morgan’s mother, Gail, watched the rescue from the other side of the square.
She said: “If John hadn’t been there it could have been a tragedy there is no way she could have got across the water with the debris that was coming down.”
He father Joe Murray, a retainedfirefighter, said: “John is playing it down, but there are plenty of people who wouldn’t have done it.”
Despite the chaos, Morgan was determined to finish her round and continued delivering the papers after her ordeal.
The flooding has caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage in the town.
Sandy Sarwar, who opened Pricekracker three weeks ago, estimates it will cost £90,000 to reopen, whileSteven Boath of the Alyth Bakehouse has had to throw away counters and fridges.
Perth and Kinross Council has suspended charges at the Blairgowrie skip site, while other businesses are offering goods and services free of charge.