FAMILIES who were forced to flee their homes for Christmas when a derelict building collapsed have called for the eyesore to be razed.
Ferocious winds sent a large section of the former Fleming’s Sawmill in Elgin crashing to the ground.
Police were forced to evacuate residents from the area amid fears that the building would disintegrate completely.
Ken and Mary Allan, along with their son Martin, were forced to spend the night in council accommodation after fleeing their home late on Christmas Eve. They were not allowed to return until 3pm on Christmas Day after a JCB digger had been used to pull down the most unstable parts of the crumbling sawmill.
The Allans had been sitting watching TV when the building collapsed.
Mrs Allan said: “We’d just been hearing about the poor people down south who’ve been flooded this Christmas, when suddenly there was an almighty crash. The whole house shook.
“The police were on the scene almost immediately. It was just before midnight when they said we’d have to get out for our own safety.
“Not knowing what might be happening to our home while we were away wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
Linkwood Road was left covered with several tonnes of debris, but the Allans’ home escaped damage.
Four greenhouses in their back garden were also left intact, as was the family car, which was parked in their driveway less than 6ft from the sawmill.
Mrs Allan, 66, said: “We’ve been incredibly lucky. It could have been so much worse.”
The family expressed their gratitude to the police and Robertson Homes, the locally based building firm that bought the derelict sawmill last year.
Mrs Allan said: “The people from Robertson’s couldn’t have been more apologetic.
“They sorted us out for Christmas lunch at the Sunnyhill Hotel.”
William and Jackie McLarty, who live close to the sawmill, were also evacuated. Mr McLarty, 77, said: “I was in bed but couldn’t sleep because of the storm outside.
“All of a sudden there was this almighty noise. We couldn’t believe it when we looked outside.”
Their home was also undamaged, except for scratch marks left on the garage door by flying debris.
Pieces of asbestos from the sawmill that had landed in their garden were cleared away by workmen on Christmas Day.
However, the couple, who were forced to stay the night at their son’s house in Bishopmill, are now worried that another storm could cause more of the building to collapse.
Both families want the sawmill demolished entirely as quickly as possible.
Mr McLarty said: “It’s been an eyesore for years. The police used heat-seeking equipment to check that nobody was buried under the rubble.
“That’s because tramps have been known to doss down in there at night.
“It really needs to be knocked down before it falls down.”