FOLLOWING hard on the heels of the recent big freeze the subsequent thaw has caused misery for many businesses and households across Clackmannanshire.

Over the past week sub-zero temperatures, that kept Scotland in its grip for most of December, nudged above freezing and in doing so left many properties soaked from burst pipes.

Employees in several shops in Alloa town centre returned from holiday to find their place of occupation sodden and, in some cases, with thousands of pounds worth of damage to equipment and stock.

But the problems faced by some of the shop owners have been eased thanks to the help provided by fellow business owners.

A property above Timpson and the British Heart Foundation on Mill Street had a pipe burst in its attic that caused extensive damage to the flat and shops below.

Damage Both businesses were closed last week as workmen were called in to repair the damage.

In Timpson part of the roof had fallen in, whilst some of the shop's equipment had also been affected by the water.

Seamstress Shona Wilkinson, told the Advertiser, "Robert (the shop manager) found it on Monday when he went past. There is lots of damage, worth thousands of pounds, our computers and machines have been affected.

"Now we are trying to salvage what we can and tidy it up." John Wilkinson, Timpson's area development manager, added, "There is a lot of damage but hopefully it shouldn't be too long before we are open � just after New Year.

"Workmen are already organised to come in and they will blitz it." He continued, "I would also like to say that the local shopkeepers were fantastic in offering help, especially Brian from The Sandwich Club." Helping hand And the spirit of lending a helping hand appears to have been at the fore for businesses throughout the town centre.

After being dismayed to find much of the inside of their business destroyed following a leaking washing machine in the flat above, Audrey Paris and Veronica Copeland, the owners of Hair FX on Mill Street, were delighted to be offered space at the nearby Morgan's Hairdressing.

Audrey said, "When I opened the shop there was water pouring from the ceiling. It had collapsed and there was inches of water, everything was ruined, you could see that straight away.

"It is your worst nightmare especially just before New Year when we are at our busiest. It would have been a real serious problem for us � we have been informed it will be at least a month before it is accessible again." Johann Calder, the owner of Morgan's, passed whilst Audrey was outside her shop and offered them a space in the salon.

Audrey went on, "Johann kindly offered to rent us an area to continue the business until we get going again.

"We know each other from being in the same business, she is an absolute star. To say we are very grateful for the help is an understatement." She added, "We hope our customers understand our difficulties and bear with us until we get the salon back together. We are sorry for the inconvenience but we are still here for business." Scottish Water said they had drafted in extra resources to its contact centre and out in the field to deal with the effects of the weather on the water infrastructure.

Since Christmas Eve they have received over 14,000 calls seeking help - more than four times the normal level for this time of year.

Peter Farrer, Scottish Water's Customer Service Delivery Director, said, "Many of our calls are from households affected by frozen pipes or bursts in their homes.  "When they call with an internal problem we offer them advice on how to get a plumber or helpful hints on our dedicated webpage at www.scottishwater/warmpipes.

"If we are unsure if this is an internal issue with the household, or an issue with our assets, or both we then send a field technician out to the customer's premises to assist." He added, "We are aware that we may be taking longer to answer some calls or respond to appeals for help. For this we apologise and thank our customers for their patience as we work to deal with all these issues.

"As the temperatures rise and the thaw takes hold this is when there is a heightened risk of burst pipes that affect both our customers' water connections and our pipe network.

"Our team know it's a 24-7 business and all our staff know how important it is for customers to be able to get through to us when they call. It may however take longer to answer calls during such extreme conditions.

"We would ask customers to remain patient with us during such times. Across the business our staff are tackling issues and prioritising the most crucial work first." Anyone with problems regarding burst pipes or their water supply should contact Scottish Water's customer helpline on 0845 601 8855.

Hair FX customers can contact Audrey or Veronica through the usual salon number.