THE teamwork of organisations which came to the aid of man requiring oxygen after deep snow stopped the delivery of supplies has been praised.

Frank Imrie needs oxygen 24 hours a day but was running dangerously low, with his usual weekly delivery unable to make it through the snow earlier this month.

Instead, a local farmer, North Berwick Community Council and East Lothian Council battled the elements to ensure the delivery was made.

Frank’s wife Fiona told the Courier: “The foresight of North Berwick Community Council to set up the resilience plan really has been a lifesaver for us. We will be eternally grateful.”

The blanket of snow left Fiona and Frank along with son Fraser – who requires overnight ventilation after becoming disabled following an e-coli infection – cut off at their home to the east of the town.

She said: “Lying awake on Thursday night I was aware of how vulnerable we, as a family, were – husband requiring oxygen but both husband and son on overnight ventilation – what would happen if we had a power cut?”

Fortunately, North Berwick Community Council, as well as East Lothian Council and a local farmer, were able to help.

Mrs Imrie sent a message to the community council on Friday morning asking if someone with a 4x4 vehicle could try to get the oxygen from Gullane – where it was in the delivery driver’s van – to their home to help 67-year-old Frank, who underwent a double lung transplant eight years ago and now has chronic rejection.

She added: “My husband had only been discharged from hospital the previous week. He has had more than 20 hospital admissions in the past two years.

“Were his oxygen to run out he would need to get to a hospital as soon as possible and as things stood an ambulance would not be able to access our road.

“Within a very short time I got a reply from the community council representative saying that she had contacted various agencies on our behalf. This was followed rapidly by a call from Scott Kennedy at East Lothian Council, who said he was arranging to get a 4x4 to deliver my husband’s oxygen.

“Within a few hours of my original message, the local farmer had cleared the road enough to allow the vehicle access and we had a supply of oxygen to tide us over.”