9am Briefing: Weather closes road and rail routes

SOME of Lothian's busiest road and rail routes were closed today after severe weather returned to batter Scotland.

The A1 and A68 were shut because of snow and ice. Landslides closed the east coast main line between Dunbar and Berwick and the River Esk in Musselburgh burst its banks.

Some schools were forced to close, including Brunstane Primary School in Edinburgh, Humbie Primary School and Yester primaries in East Lothian, and Moorfoot and Tynewater primaries in Midlothian.

Two men had a lucky escape when a tree crashed down on to their car on the Royal Mile. High winds sent scaffolding crashing to the ground at the Commonwealth Pool. And an area of the High Street outside the Mitre Bar was closed off after high winds sent loose tiles crashing down on to the street.

Forecasters said the worst of the storms should be over by the end of today.

Darling admits cannabis use

CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling has admitted he was an "occasional" cannabis user when he was younger.

The Edinburgh South West MP said he did not like the taste, but was driven by curiosity.

He admitted he tried cannabis while at Aberdeen University, where he was president of the Student Union.

Mr Darling said: "It was nothing special. I didn't like the taste."

Asked how it made him feel, he replied: "Mildly relaxed. It never did much for me. It was curiosity, really. I was never tempted to try anything stronger."

Victoria's stockings under the hammer

SILK stockings worn by Queen Victoria were due to go under the hammer in Edinburgh today.

The hand-stitched black and white stockings belonging to Britain's longest-running monarch bear a crest design and are said to have been a favourite style of the Queen in the 1870s.

Auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull said the sale of the underwear, valued at around 400, would attract interest from "Victoriana" collectors worldwide.