A flood relief fund which was established to help an Aberdeenshire community get back on its feet, following the destruction of this winter’s storms, has received nearly £10,000 in charitable donations from all over the world.
The Ballater Flood Fund has collected more than £9,000 from people all across the UK, and from as far afield as Germany, Switzerland and Canada.
The money will be spent assisting the dozens of village residents and businesses who were hit worst by the floodwaters brought on by Storm Frank and Storm Desmond.
The fund is designed to provide direct financial aid, temporary accommodation and community support to anybody who requires it.
Reverend David Barr, minister of the Glenmuick Church in the centre of the community, is working alongside Reverend Vittoria Hancock from St Kentigern’s Episcopal Church to ensure the donations get to those most in need.
Rev Barr said: “About 99% of it is going directly to individuals affected by the flood.
“Some people have lost everything. All their clothes, personal items and their photographs were washed away.
“Children lost all their belongings, their clothes, and even their Christmas presents.”
The reverend explained that although the waters have subsided and, from the outside at least, the village looks to have returned to normal, the interiors of many buildings still need a lot of remedial work.
Rev Barr said: “The floors are ripped up, the walls are stripped back to the brick and there is no furniture.
“I went to one house, which had two and a half to three inches of muddy silt covering everything. It was like a carpet of silt all the way through the house.
“It will take from six months to a year for some of these houses to be lived in again.”