COUNCIL leader Gordon Matheson was asleep when the phone rang and, like most people who get an unexpected late night call, he feared the worst.

But he could never have predicted what he was about to hear.

At the other end of the line one of his advisers told him a helicopter had crashed into the Clutha.

Sleep quickly became a distant memory and Mr Matheson's first thoughts were for everyone involved in the disaster.

He said: "My immediate reaction was a sense of shock and I thought, 'God help the people who are caught up in this'."

However, his priority was to ensure all the necessary council services had kicked into action and that everything possible was being done to help.

His first call was to the council's resilience team, a small unit of senior staff who co-ordinate the local authority's response to major events.

Mr Matheson said: "It ensures the emergency services get the support they need from the city council."

Over the coming hours, days and weeks thousands of council staff would be involved in the Clutha operation.

l Many who were off duty volunteered to help out in whatever way they could and a large number worked round the clock responding to the changing situation.

l By the time the council leader was informed of the tragedy, Glasgow Life had opened Gorbals Leisure Centre as a place of refuge for families looking for information about loved ones they feared may have been in the popular city centre pub.

l The refuge was staffed by social workers and colleagues from the council-run Glasgow Community Safety Services.

l Cordia, the council's arm's length organisation, was on hand to provide hot drinks to relatives and the emergency services.

l And roads staff brought in emergency lighting and closed streets round the incident.

l Throughout the night, the council communications team answered calls from journalists from around the world.

l Staff from scientific services and building control worked to support the emergency services by ensuring the pub building was safe enough to allow crews to enter.

l Checks were made for gas leaks and anything else that might affect the rescue.

l Council computer staff were brought in to ensure communications were in place and events workers erected a marquee as protection from the elements.

Mr Matheson said: "After the briefing from my adviser and the resilience team I was clear the council was fully operational and that we were co-ordinating our efforts with the emergency services."

The council boss received regular briefings throughout the night and was in his office in the City Chambers before 7am.

Countless decisions had to be made, including whether to cancel a ceilidh due to be held in George Square that night to celebrate St Andrew's Day.

Mr Matheson said: "I had to make a judgment whether that should go ahead and decided it would be right to cancel it."

He visited the Clutha site to get a briefing from senior officers and staff at the scene and spent time at the police's Glasgow division HQ in Govan, where the emergency response centre is based.

Mr Matheson was part of an emotional press conference with the heads of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service and First Minister Alex Salmond.

He said: "We thanked the emergency services for the extraordinary work they were doing.

"The key for us was to show support and express our deep sympathy for everyone who had been caught up in the incident.

"We also wanted to make clear all the professional services were co-ordinated and were doing everything they possibly could."

Later that day, Mr Matheson took a call from Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael, who offered his condolences and sympathy but also the total support of the UK Government.

As November turned to December, the council leader joined emergency workers and council staff as they carefully carried hundreds of floral tributes from opposite the Clutha to a new memorial site on the banks of the river.

Every card, flower and memento was treated with respect by a group of men and women united in their grief.

The council boss said: "All the while, staff were working to care for those who had been injured and were trying to offer whatever comfort was possible to those who had lost loved ones.

"In a whole range of ways there has been a lot of continuing practical and emotional support provided by a range of council services.

"I am deeply grateful and was hugely impressed at the dedication and professionalism of all council staff.

"And the emergency services and the NHS and, of course, the public responded in an extraordinary way.

"It was an awful tragedy yet it brought out the very best in so many people who ran towards the Clutha to offer help."

vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk