Buildings were flooded, roads closed and a wheelchair-bound man evacuated from his home yesterday after torrential rainfall in Fife.

Freuchie, near Glenrothes, and Cupar, in Angus, were among the areas most badly affected by the downpour, in which half an average month's rain fell in one night.

Forecasters reported 31mm of rain at RAF Leuchars, compared with 13mm in Edinburgh and the Borders. Fife Fire and Rescue, which received 68 weather-related calls overnight, distributed sandbags yesterday to prevent further damage in a joint operation with Fife Council.

Catherine O'Connell, who lives in Fife, said that her daughter's house was flooded while she was away on honeymoon. “The downstairs was really flooded - the fridge freezer took a walk right across the kitchen. The garden was under water and the firefighters have been pumping it all out. I've no idea what my daughter will say, it's a terrible thing to come home to.”

Ross Robertson, 28, from Freuchie Mill, estimated that about 20 properties had been flooded locally.

"The water is up to some residents' letter boxes," he said. "One of my neighbours who had been away overnight was in tears after she found her house flooded.

"Everyone who parked their car in the car park in front of the flats has had it written off by the flood waters."

Robert Balfour, a farmer from Freuchie, said he feared for the health of his crops amid the downpours.

Mr Balfour told BBC Radio Scotland: "It's crazy. We should be on a combine, not a digger trying to dig out drains. The crops are still standing but this rain is not doing them any good."

Further north, in the Tayside area, police closed off footpaths close to the Barry Burn in Carnoustie, which was in danger of bursting its banks. However, it was too late to remedy the damage caused by the nearby Ashludie Burn, which flooded Monifieth Links in Carnoustie and interrupted play during the British girls' open amateur golf championship. Competitors could play only 16 holes.

Environmental groups gave warning yesterday that flooding is likely to become worse in the future.

"Statistics show we are having longer rain events, which can build up more water in rivers, more days of rain, and more rainfall, so the risk of flooding has increased," Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland said. "We have also built on flood plains and not been very clever in the way we have moved rivers."

Dr Dixon praised the Scottish government's plans for new flooding legislation, but pointed out that the laws would achieve limited change unless ministers get tougher on the climate change that is driving the warmer, wetter summers.

"There is a lot more to do," he said. "The SNP have a climate change bill coming up and if they deliver what they promised on reducing greenhouse gases Scotland will be a world leader. But of course the Nationalists are also expanding airports, and building new roads and road bridges. Their proposals mean they won't meet their own targets."

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