Sun forecast after month’s rain falls in just 18 hours

THE Capital finally got a break from the bad weather today after unrelenting downpours saw a month’s rain fall in 18 hours.

Forecasters said the next three days were set to be sunny, bringing some relief to residents who requested sandbags from the city council yesterday amid fears their homes could be flooded.

Continuous rain left Inch Park under water and commuters faced huge disruption after a Fife Circle train was derailed in Rosyth after hitting a landslide caused by the persistent heavy rain.

Around 30 passengers and two crew members were on board the ScotRail Newcraighall to Edinburgh service when the front carriage smashed into the mudslip and came off the tracks between Rosyth and Dunfermline Town at 4.10pm. There were no injuries as a result of the derailment and the passengers remained onboard until a replacement service arrived.

SEPA said river levels were expected to fall today after peaking overnight, but the risk of surface water flooding remained,

For some, the rain has already taken its toll. A city artist who spent two years planning a football match in a forest as part of the UK-wide Cultural Olympiad has been forced to call it off this weekend because of the rain.

Craig Coulthard – who created a full-size pitch, along with stands and changing rooms, in a dense wooded area in the Borders – has rearranged the Forest Pinch event for the end of next month after advice from football officials.

Matthew Shelley, spokesman for the organisers, said: “We had been working right up till yesterday lunchtime to get the pitch ready and we had a final pitch inspection with an FA official. His concern was that even if there are a couple of good days, the rain has just been absolutely dreadful and there could well be too much standing water on Saturday to allow a safe game.”

Cricket bosses are expected to decide soon on whether the Scotland v England one-day international at the Grange next month will go ahead.

Ben Fox, spokesman for Cricket Scotland, said: “The groundsmen have been working tirelessly. They are telling me the place had dried out to a reasonable extent after all the floods, but yesterday’s rain left the square where the strip will be completely under water.”

However, it seems the weather has provided an unexpected boost for at least one retailer. John Lewis in Edinburgh’s St James Centre reported a significant increase in sales of umbrellas and 80 denier opaque tights over the past couple of weeks. Managing director Barry Blamire said: “We’ve sold more brollies this summer than any other previous year.”