A NORTH Berwick art gallery has suffered extensive damage after it was flooded last week.

Flooding at Greens and Blues Fine Art Gallery, on High Street, is believed to have caused in the region of £10,000 worth of damage.

A faulty boiler in a flat upstairs is believed to have caused the flood, at about 5.15pm last Friday.

Brian Ross, who runs Greens and Blues, told the Courier how the work of the fire crew from East Linton helped salvage much of the artwork in the gallery.

He said: “The flat above us is a holiday home, so it’s not occupied for much of the year.

“The fire brigade had to kick the door in and they found the boiler had burst.”

“They were taking paintings over to our other gallery, on Market Place.

“They were there about 10 minutes after the call was made and they did a fantastic job. I can’t really thank them enough.”

Mr Ross added that the gallery was a scene of “utter devastation” on Monday lunchtime, but said it could have been much worse.

“Most of the artwork has been saved – we lost some paintings in the cellar downstairs because, although they are off the ground in case of any water coming in, you never imagine it will come in from above.

“The fire brigade, the police and a lot of local traders were out helping us get the work out the gallery.

“My son was trying to salvage equipment and the firemen were helping him with that – thankfully they did, because the roof came down right where he was sitting about 10 minutes later.”

Had the incident happened a mere 45 minutes later, Mr Ross conceded the consequences would have been far worse. He said: “If this had happened after 6pm when the gallery was closed for the night, and the weekend, the damage would have been so much worse.

“The whole gallery would have been destroyed.

“I really cannot thank the fire service enough – I’m on my way up there just now with a case of wine for them.

“It’s not something I wish to repeat any time soon.”

It is hoped the gallery could re-open in three to four weeks’ time.