When the going gets tough it seems that in Moray the tough very much get going as stories of kind hearted neighbours helping those in need during the flooding emerged.
In Buckie, Parklands Care Home on the High Street was set for evacuation until a local farmer arrived. Mill of Buckie farmer Mike Watt arrived at the scene with his tractor and heavy duty pumping equipment and cleared away water that had filled the care home car park.
Manager Ron Taylor said: “The water had risen above a level that was safe and we were ready to start putting our evacuation plan into motion when Mike came along.
“He was here for three or four hours pumping the water away. I’ve lived in Buckie for 20 years and never seen anything like it – we have a lot of vulnerable people at the care home, but the Buckie people rallied around and are just fantastic.”
In Dallas, residents were forced to build their own flood defences when the main street became a river.
Local resident and stonemason Hans Norling developed a unique alternative to sandbags by deploying mortar into 58 bags onto his neighbours’ property to protect them.
Mr Norling said: “There has been 10 houses flooded and we have been pumping out water and sweeping carpets to get the mud and debris out of homes.
“The whole community has come together – no one is looking after just their own house, people from outside the village have also come down to hand out soup to the workers who have been helping out.”
In Elgin when it emerged that families were being forced from their homes several people in the local community rallied around with offers of assistance – and even temporary accommodation.
The picture was the same throughout Moray as neighbours called in on neighbours to ensure that they were safe and well.