A hero West Lothian man rescued a street of elderly residents whose road was entirely blocked by fallen trees following Storm Eowyn.
Kyle Raeburn works as a landscaper and jumped into action when he saw a post from a client on social media saying that her elderly mother’s road was completely obstructed by tree limbs.
Within an hour of seeing the post, the Broxburn and his friend Ryan Macleod Kyle arrived on the scene at Manse Court in East Calder – a street he says is full of elderly folks in sheltered housing.
Free of charge, he brought his landscaping equipment to help clear the debris, which he said had been laying there for several days in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn.
Kyle told Edinburgh Live: “We had to climb over a fence and fallen trees to get to the other side of the street.
“If emergency services were needed, they couldn’t get through.”
Kyle was concerned that if an elderly person had a medical emergency, or the fire service was needed, the services would not be able to access the street.
He added that carers were trying to access housing on Mans Court for three days.
Kyle added: “It was completely blocked. Carers were trying to go in and out but they couldn’t get in. God knows how long it would have taken if we hadn’t gone.”
The debris on Manse Court was reported to West Lothian Council.
A spokesperson from the council said the street was on their list but services were inundated with over 600 reports of fallen trees, adding that their teams worked “tirelessly throughout the weekend to investigate and resolve all reported issues as quickly as possible.”
Within two hours, Kyle had cleared the street to the gratitude of its residents.
One grateful local whose mother lived on the road told Kyle: “Goodness knows how long it would have taken to clear if you hadn’t stepped in. Thank you so much from everyone at Manse Court.”
A carer who works at Manse Court said: “Thank you so much. Nice to know there is kindness in the community of East Calder. It won’t go unnoticed from a grateful worker at Manse Court. Such a lovely gesture.”
Kyle used to grit the road at Manse Court during the wintertime and said it was extremely rewarding to return when the residents needed help.
He said: “It felt great, I felt we’d made a difference. If a fire broke out or an ambulance was needed, no one could get to them. We used to grit there in winter time and it caught my eye knowing people were trapped there.”
A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “Since Storm Eowyn hit West Lothian on Friday, we have received over 600 reports of fallen trees across the area.
“Our teams have been working tirelessly throughout the weekend to investigate and resolve all reported issues as quickly as possible.
“Due to the volume of reports over the weekend it will understandably take our operatives a bit of time to visit all incidents. On this occasion we understand the area had been cleared before our operatives were able to carry out a visit.”
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