The “distraught” owner of an Aberdeenshire pet supplies company is potentially looking at a repair bill of thousands of pounds after raging flood waters washed away a 20ft wall from his shop.
Graham Skene, who has owned Inverurie Pet Supplies in the town’s Keith Hall Road for the past seven years, said he saw four feet of water build up in his shop in just 20 minutes on Thursday night.
Surveying the damage yesterday Mr Skene said it was a scene of “utter devastation”.
He added: “Our stock is ruined and I don’t know how long it will take for us to get back to normal.
“We have been pumping water out the shop pretty much non-stop, day and night, since it all happened.
“Because of all the rain, a 25kg bag of dog food now weighs 50kg so it will be a bit of a job to get it all cleaned.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Every other time the weather has been bad, we have been okay.
“It all happened so fast, Luckily, I got out, but there was about four feet of water in about 20 minutes and that got up to about seven feet.
“There is probably about 20ft of wall missing as well as all the damage inside.
“We are waiting on the insurance assessor to come round but, until then, we are in the dark.”
Last night, Inverurie councillor Hamish Vernal said he had “heartfelt sympathy” for Mr Skene and pledged that Aberdeenshire Council would help businesses “get back on their feet”.
He said: “I think that the council, the emergency services and the people of Aberdeenshire have all really risen to the occasion and I am proud of the concern that people have shown for each other.
“I have heartfelt sympathy for Mr Skene. The (Scottish) Government and local government will be working hand in hand to work with local businesses to help them get back on their feet.”
