Washout chaos ahead as rain set to continue

FLOODING caused widespread travel chaos and threatened thousands of homes and businesses yesterday after some areas of the UK saw a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.

Southern Scotland and the north of England were the worst hit, with rail services cancelled or disrupted due to downpours, waterlogged roads closed and more than 11,000 homes and businesses put under the protection of flood defences.

A further 7,000 properties were issued with flood warnings, and people were cautioned to be vigilant as rain was expected into this morning.

Trains between Dumfries and Carlisle were cancelled. ScotRail passengers were permitted to use the CrossCountry services between Edinburgh and Newcastle instead.

Virgin Trains ran a shuttle service between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh every 90 minutes to connect with East Coast and CrossCountry services after standard services were suspended.

Meanwhile, trunk road operator Scotland Transerv reported closures both ways on the A83 between Arrochar and Inveraray due to a high risk of a landslip at the Rest and Be Thankful viewpoint, in Argyll and Bute.

Westbound traffic was diverted via the A82 to Tyndrum, the A85 to Damally and the A819 to return to the A83 at Inveraray, a distance of approximately 60 miles.

The Isle of Wight Festival was hit after rain made car parks inaccessible, leaving 600 revellers stranded on ferries and unable to disembark due to backed-up traffic on the island.

Extra police are to be deployed to help revellers leave at the end of the event after heavy rains turned the site into a mudbath.

Hampshire police announced that extra officers will be brought in to support organisers Solo as they assist the festival-goers as they leave and attempt to remove their vehicles from the muddy car parks tonight and tomorrow morning.

The Met Office said the wettest places in the country during Friday’s downpour were in Cumbria, Lancashire and West Yorkshire, with some families forced to spend the night in temporary accommodation after rivers burst their banks.

Meanwhile, the Met Office issued “yellow” severe weather warnings for Strathclyde, south-west and central Scotland, the Lothians, the Borders, Tayside and Fife, the Highlands & Islands, Grampian, the north west of England, Yorkshire and Humber, the south west and Northern Ireland.