Published: Wednesday, 27th December, 2006 15:16
Poor Stewart's double disaster
By Frances Ridge
Print Article
A BUSINESSMAN who lost his factory to a blaze was dealt another blow as his other business was destroyed by flooding.
Stewart Harris was devastated when his Luss business the Thistle Bagpipe Works was gutted in a fire on December 7 — but just a week later stock in his Totally Tartan outlet in Antartex was floating across the shop floor.
Despite losing everything he has worked for, the 31 year-old businessman is determined to remain upbeat.
He said: `If I don't laugh I will cry. My insurer said that in all his working days he had never heard of anything like this — losing one business to fire one week and the other to a flood the next.
`On Saturday afternoon I had just spoken to another customer calling to cancel their order and I just thought, 'Is this really happening to me? Have I really gone from owning two successful businesses to owning nothing in just one week?'.`
Torrential rain has been wreaking havoc across the country and last week's weather caused the river to burst its banks and flood the popular outlet, Antartex Village.
Stewart added: `Totally Tartan was under three feet of water so I got an inflatable boat and waded in to get my stock. I pretty much got away with 50 per cent of it, the rest has been damaged.
`This is a busy time for kilt hire with party nights, Christmas and Hogmanay but in the last few days people have been calling to cancel their orders, I can understand why but it is still difficult.
`And next year is going to be a quiet year for us. From January brides come in and order for their wedding but people looking for us will not know where to find us.`
Stewart told the Advertiser last week that Thistle Bagpipe Works had been destroyed after one of the machines caught fire in the workroom and rapidly engulfed the entire building.
Stewart added: `If there was no such thing as bad luck I would have no luck at all.`
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
Heart fund's £23,000