Edinburgh nursery owner waded through water to get children to safety amid floods in Kirkliston

A nursery owner has spoken about wading through flood water to get children to safety as she pleaded with councillors to take urgent action on flood prevention.

The Edinburgh village of Kirkliston was left devastated after the River Almond burst its banks at the end of December leaving some people trapped in their homes and most roads out of the village blocked off.

A local councillor said there was “water almost as far as the eye could see” adding: “I have never seen anything like it”.

And Vicky Coia, owner of the Orchard Nursery, said their building had been closed since the flooding on December 30, telling councillors: “I don’t even know when we’ll get back in [the nursery].

“This affects the whole community.”

Ms Coia, who has since re-located the nursery to the community centre, recalled having to “wade through thigh high water to get [children] to their parents” when the floods hit.

She said elsewhere in the village locals’ cars were “written off” and houses “ruined”.

She continued: “It’s really clear now that the River Almond and the subsequent burns can not handle the volume of water that is coming into them from all these different sources.

“The expansion of properties, the expansion of the M9, climate change, blocked drains – it’s completely affecting us.”

“We just feel that we’re on the outskirts of Edinburgh and nobody’s really paying attention to us.”

And she added the River Almond is “not even on the radar” of flood prevention teams.

A petition with over 1,300 signatures has called on the council to take action.

Local councillor Kevin Lang said there were “some simple things the council can do to help”.

The transport and environment committee passed a motion he tabled calling on officials to explore “short-term and long-term options” to address the issue.

Councillor Lang said: “The nursery, scout hut, several local homes and an important local business were very seriously damaged.

“Our drainage system was simply not designed to deal with this – the sheer amount of water that is coming down.

“What is clear is that we can not let the current situation continue.”

Officers will report back to committee later this year detailing what steps can be taken to avoid similar devastation occurring again in future.