A Deeside farming couple is being forced to sell up half its herd of deer for fear of future flooding.
Jane and Ewan MacInnes were badly hit with flooding at their 128-acre Maryculter Home Farm on the outskirts of Aberdeen on December 30, 2015.
The floods wiped out more than 2,500 metres of deer fencing, which will cost more than £20,000 to replace, and swept away 400 bales of haylage.
The couple, who have been at the farm for the past 50 years, now face the difficult task of selling off half their herd of 65 red deer hinds.
They said they don’t feel confident enough to put up any more fencing near the riverbank for fear of future flooding.
“We will have to cut back to 25 or 30 hinds because they need extensive ground to calf. I don’t think I’d up numbers again.
If this happens again the deer fencing is too expensive to keep replacing,” said Mrs MacInnes.
The couple has hit out at the lack of warning given to them and nearby residents that the river was likely to burst its banks, and called for a better advanced warning system to be put in the place in future.
Mrs MacInnes said: “We were not given any warning. There must be some way of warning people down-stream – not just farmers but householders too. Having a warning system is very important for the future.”
Responding to the concerns, environment agency Sepa said advanced flood warning services were already in place through the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service (SFFS) and the agency’s direct warning service to the public, Floodline.
Pascal Lardet from Sepa’s flood unit said: “SFFS is a partnership with the Met Office through which Sepa issues early warning to emergency services and other partners in Scotland through a daily Flood Guidance Statement. The guidance provides a risk assessment of flooding five days ahead and enables partners to prepare for the eventuality of flooding.”
He said the Floodline service provides web-based flood warnings as well as free direct notification of flood alerts and warnings by text or by phone to registered customers.
“These can also be accessed by visiting Sepa’s website or by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188,” he added.
He said Sepa was not currently looking to change how it monitored rivers and warned people about flooding.