An entire cul-de-sac in Freuchie has been devastated after heavy rain hit Fife again.

More than a dozen homes in Freuchie Mill were flooded, with furniture and possessions ruined, and at least 20 cars have been destroyed.

Part of one garden has collapsed, leaving a gaping hole about 12 metres wide.

Residents have told how water, which rose in a matter of minutes, was running like a "torrent" through their street and almost completely submerged their cars.

Tidemarks on some of the houses showed that it had risen to around three feet deep inside, while a newlywed couple were contacted on honeymoon to be told of the damage to their home.

Sheila Craven, who lives in one of the worst affected properties, was staying overnight with her daughter.

She said, "If I was here I would have been killed."

The householder, whose garden had collapsed, said she had just returned from holiday, had lost all her possessions and did not want to speak to the press.

George and Margaret Brown, who are in their 80s, were trapped upstairs in their home until firefighters arrived.

Their son, John, said, "They were the first to see what had happened and my mother phoned round all the neighbours before the phones went dead.

"They were stuck upstairs and phoned the fire brigade. They stayed inside until the water was pumped away."

John Thomson, who runs his IT business from home, said, "Both my home and my business are ruined."

He woke at 5am to hear water cascading down behind his house. He said, "It was like a torrent running down the side of the houses."

Mr Thomson, also accused Kingdom Housing Association, which owns several of the properties, of failing to maintain a drain behind the cul-de-sac which he said was blocked with debris, including a piece of carpet. He said the cul-de-sac had flooded in the past.

Neil and Audrey Duff had recently redecorated their entire house and Neil said the downstairs was completely ruined.

The couple's daughter, Kirsty, woke them at 5.30am and Neil said the water rose so quickly there was no time to save the family's three cars, which included Kirsty's Mini, a present for her 21st birthday.

He said, "Our furniture was floating about, we managed to save the TV and that was about it. We had just laid new flooring and redecorated and the place is knackered."

The water outside rose in the space of just five or 10 minutes, he said, and at its highest was almost up to his chest.

Angela Lawrie and Ross Robertson escaped the floods in their first-floor flat but lost their car.

Angela said, "Every car in the street will be a write-off. The water was up to the head rests."

Another resident, Rose Duncan, praised the response of the fire brigade and police.

Culverts under the cul-de-sac which flow under a bridge into a nearby burn were unable to cope with the volume of water.

The bridge is adjacent to where the ground has collapsed but a Fife Council engineer who had inspected it said it remained stable.

Eight of the properties were evacuated but the council's emergency planning officer, Dougie Potter, said all of the householders had found alternative accommodation themselves through friends and family.

Freuchie Primary School was opened as an emergency centre and WRVS volunteers were drafted into assist people if required.

Kingdom Housing Association resources director Eleanor Fotheringham said it had found temporary accommodation nearby for tenants who had not made their own arrangements.

She said the organisation would continue to work with tenants to assist with longer-term arrangements.

Responding to Mr Thomson's comments, she added, "We would be surprised if that drain had made any contribution to the problem. It has clearly been the result of extreme rainfall which had overwhelmed the drainage system."

In Cupar, crowds of people had gathered to witness spectacular scenes in Burnside, where 14 people were evacuated from their homes after the Lady Burn burst its banks.

At its peak, the normally busy part of the town resembled a river and all roads leading to it were closed.

One bystander, Craig Halley (18), of nearby Houston Court, saw the dramatic rescue of an elderly man in Burnside North.

He said, "I saw him being carried out. When they brought him outside the water was up to his chest and they had to hold him up high."

Graeme Gillon, of Newton, above Burnside, said when he passed the area at 7am there was little more than puddles. But he added, "When I came back about 8.30am, I couldn't get through. It was pandemonium."

Motorist Alistair Norry, of St Andrews, got stuck at around 7am when he tried to drive his Land Rover through water which was then only around a foot deep. Later, he said, the water was up to his waist and it was midday before he was able to start his vehicle again.

The Burnside Hotel was flooded by about three feet of water and had to close as the electricity supply to the area was shut off.

Landlady Elizabeth Strachan said, "There will be no business here today. When I came down, about 9.40am, you couldn't get along Burnside at all."

Fife Fire and Rescue Service crew manager Andrew Mill remained on standby as the water receded later in the morning.

He said, "The whole road was inundated with water. There was about three feet of water in Lady Wynd.

"There is a grate at the top end of the burn and with the amount of water and the debris that landed on it the water has backed up and come over the wall."

He also said Scotland Gas Network was called out at one point due to a smell of gas which turned out to be a false alarm.

Skinners Steps was also flooded.

The manager of Ali's Discount Store, Mohammed Khalid, said water had come into the shop but no stock had been damaged.

A number of roads were closed in north east Fife due to flooding yesterday. The rainfall-31mm of rain was recorded in Leuchars-closed the A92 between Rathillet and Parbroath.

Traffic was diverted from the trunk road through Cupar, causing lengthy tailbacks with vehicles queuing well beyond the town boundaries.

Other roads closed were the A915 between Upper Largo and Largoward, the A917 at Shell Bay, the B942 west of Colinsburgh, the C20 between Freuchie and Kingskettle, the C23 between Freuchie and Cadgers Brae, the C31 Stratheden to Cupar road, the C45 between Dairsie and Pitscottie and Auchtermuchty High Road.

Harry Byers, of Fife Council transportation services, said there had been ongoing problems on the roads due to the weather since last Thursday night. "Water is coming off farm land and the quantity of water is impossible to cope with," he said.

In Cupar, he said, the traffic lights in the town centre had been switched off to allow manual control of heavy volumes of traffic.

East Sands Leisure Centre was also closed in the afternoon. Fife Fire and Rescue Service were called out at around 1.45pm to deal with around 10 inches of water at the door.

The service called in Scottish Water as overflowing sewage was also threatening to flood the centre.