Downpour leads to flood damage

Heavy rains brought a series of localised floods on Wednesday, causing damage to property and flooding roads.

In Hillswick the workshop of local businesswoman Esmé Wilcock was flooded. On the Facebook page for her business, Jewellery Made by Shetland, she reported that the combination of a “cloudburst and blocked road drain” had caused the flooding. In the same post, she thanked the firefighters who pumped water from the scene.

She wrote: “Today my workshop and my dad’s workshops were flooded from a cloudburst and blocked road drain there is quite a lot of damage.

“I have orders to go out this week they will be late going out I will also be slower answering messages until I have assessed the damages and got the place dried out. Thank you to everyone that helped and thank you to the fire crew with their pump.”

Meanwhile, water running from the hills in Tingwall briefly led to flooded roads at the Gaet-A-Gott development in Tingwall.

Council road staff were alerted to the flooding and attended the scene. They found no problems with the drainage in the area and reported that the water soon drained and the road was clear.

The flooding comes as parts of the United Kingdom have been hit by Storm Georgina – bringing heavy winds to Scotland and substantial rainfall in the north of England.

Most of the adverse weather bypassed Shetland and the combination of recently thawed snow, waterlogged ground and heavy rain has been blamed for the Tingwall flooding.