A STORM Babet victim vowed to tell council bosses to “get stuffed” if they attempt to demolish his house.
Mike Vittese, 51, and elderly mum Edna, 82, lost everything in devastating floods last year.
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Now they face more uncertainty after local authority chiefs unveiled their regeneration plans for Brechin, Angus.
One of the options they’re considering is to seize and knock down privately-owned homes in the danger zone and then rehouse residents.
Mike said: “We won’t be going anywhere.
“This is the last thing we need after everything we’ve already been through.
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“If they come knocking and try to get us out they will be told to get stuffed. That’s about as polite as I can be about it.”
Storm Babet devastated the town last October when it was battered by a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.
It was the wettest ever day recorded in the Angus region, going by records dating back to 1891.
Brechin’s £16million flood prevention scheme was unable to cope and up to 1000 people were affected in the town.
Mike and Edna fled after emergency crews advised them to leave and took very little with them.
When he was able to return Mike was horrified by the extent of the damage as the water level reached over the windowsill.
The stinking water wrecked everything on the ground level and moved furniture and white goods around.
Mike said: “The place looked like we had been robbed. The smell was just horrendous. I’ll never forget it.
“Until you have been through something like that you just don’t know how bad it is.”
Mike and Edna were forced to live with relatives and friends as £80,000 of damage was fixed.
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They finally moved back into the house in May and thought they were finally going to be able to move on with their lives.
This week Angus Council has revealed it’s considering knocking down 118 of their own properties and 21 privately-owned homes that were hit by the flood.
Officials revealed they would use compulsory purchase orders if necessary to take the pads they don’t own.
This option is one of three on the table and experts reckon it would be the cheapest, costing more than £7million over £30 years.
“If they come knocking and try to get us out they will be told to get stuffed.”
While reinstating the houses would be the most expensive plan, costing more than £16million.
Grandmother Edna said: “There is no way I want to move and start again. We’ll fight it. I think everybody around here would fight it.”
No final decision has been made yet on what will happen in Brechin and the next step is a public consultation on the plans.
Local councillor Jill Scott grew up in the area and was a neighbour of the Vittese’s.
‘What can we do?’
She said: “My heart is breaking for them and all the families down there.
“It’s just awful for them to be in this situation. This is their homes we are talking about.
“But what can we do? People need to take part in the consultation. We need to hear from them about what they want to happen next.”
A spokesman for Angus Council said: “No recommendations have been made to elected members and no decisions have been taken on the future of housing or future flood protection for the Brechin area.
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“Elected members received an update on work undertaken so far, including two highly detailed independent technical reports that help to inform the wider decision-making process.
“While these reports do provide certain options and recommendations, extensive work must still be done to identify the best solutions that lie ahead for the longer-term recovery of the River Street area and wider locality. Key to that process will be community consultation and engagement.”
