PERTH — Perth and Kinross Council's public consultation on a draft flood protection scheme for the Craigie Burn took an unexpected turn this week when the burn itself turned up to the community drop-in session.

"We sent an invitation letter to every property in the area, and technically the burn runs past most of them," said Senior Flood Liaison Officer Fiona Baird, still wringing out her cardigan. "We didn't expect it to RSVP. It came in under the door around half past four."

Witnesses report the burn spent much of the afternoon at Moncreiffe Halls studying the outline engineering drawings, pooling near the tea urn, and asking pointed questions about the height of the proposed walls.

"It kept saying 'And what happens if I just go round?'" said resident Margaret Tosh, 72. "Nobody had an answer. Then it ate a whole tray of tablet. Just soaked it right up."

Engineers insist the scheme is robust. "We've modelled a one-in-two-hundred-year event," said Baird. "The burn says it's been planning a one-in-two-hundred-and-one-year event specifically to annoy us. Frankly, that's not in the brief."

The River Tay, approached for comment, said it "wasn't getting involved" but described the Craigie Burn as "a good kid with a lot of energy" and noted it had "once spent a whole January in North Muirton, so who are we to judge."

Comment forms must be returned to the council by Friday 16 October. The council has asked the burn to submit its response in writing rather than "all over the floor of the planning office again." The burn has not yet responded, but forecasters warn it may do so in force this weekend.