A BRECHIN resident says he has no intention of leaving his home despite reported evacuations amid a red weather warning.

It comes as residents of Brechin have been told to leave the town due to Storm Babet floods.

More than 350 homes are being evacuated amid a severe flood warning for the Brechin River and South Esk area, Angus Council has said.

A rest centre is due to be set up this afternoon from about 3pm and nearby hotels will offer refuge.

The council will be going door-to-door to inform residents of the need to get out of their properties.

But John Stewart, 82, said he will not be leaving his home should the local authorities attempt to evacuate him.

Instead, Stewart has built a wall around his garden to protect his home from flood damage.

The National:

READ MORE: Storm Babet: Red weather warning extended to parts of Tayside

He said the wall had successfully stopped water from getting in from the street previously where flooding was severe.

He said: “I won’t be leaving because my wife won’t go.”

He added: “The trouble is, the last time there was flooding we couldn’t get sandbags and ended up paying £3 each for them.

“The council is supposed to give you that stuff and they don’t.”

Asked if he believes the council has a duty to supply such items to Brechin residents, he said they should “look after” the people in the area.

Storm Babet could bring up to 200-220mm of rain in some areas of eastern Scotland, an amount close to the highest ever 24-hour total for a “rainfall day”, Met Office figures show.

Some 238mm of rain was measured at Sloy Main Adit in Argyll & Bute between 9am on January 17 1974 and 9am the following day.

This is the highest total on record in Scotland for what the Met Office calls a “rainfall day”: the 24 hours from 9am to 9am.