Dozens of residents living in a town at risk of flooding were minutes from being evacuated during heavy rain storms, it has been revealed.

A meeting of East Lothian Council was told officers were on the verge of launching the emergency action on the eve of Hogmanay in Musselburgh as heavy rainfall sparked fears for families.

The council's head of infrastructure Tom Reid said it was only a change in the tide, which halted a potential disaster for locals.

He said: "We had an event where had the tide not changed there would have been an evacuation of somewhere between 10 and 20 houses and those properties would have likely suffered significant damage.

"We were probably 15 minutes away from me taking a determination to evacuate."

Mr Reid was referencing rain storms on December 30, whi

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