A woman has told of her terror as she watched her house crumble around her during Storm Ciara.
The chimney collapse caused the roof of Caroline Macdonald’s Perth flat to cave in while she was inside.
She told STV News: “I thought the whole thing was going to collapse and I was going to be stuck in it.
“And it’s like one of those movies where you watch and you go, ‘don’t be stupid – get out, get out, get out’, but I couldn’t.
“I was just rooted to the spot – I didn’t know what way to go.”
Ms Macdonald has been forced to stay in temporary accommodation and most of her belongings are ruined.
Emergency services were alerted to the incident at The Venue in St John Street at around 7.25pm on Saturday.
Three people were taken into the care of the ambulance service.
A pub below her flat, which has been closed since the collapse, will reopen on Friday night via the back entrance.
A fundraiser will take place at the weekend for Ms Macdonald and other tenants. It is also being held as a ‘thank you’ to emergency staff and builders who have helped since the incident.
Ms Macdonald said she’s been “moved” by the reaction of the locals.
She said: “The whole community’s all rallied round, it’s been fantastic.”
Ms Macdonald faces uncertainty over when, or if, she will get back into her flat and she’s currently on the lookout for a new home.
Despite everything she’s been through, she admits it’s a miracle nobody was seriously hurt when the roof came in.
She said: “It could have been a lot worse. I don’t think there were many tenants in the building at the time, but it’s a scary, scary thing.
“I hope I never have to go through anything like that again.”
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