Scotland’s weather: Flood warnings and ferries cancelled

WEATHER warnings are in place for many parts of Scotland as heavy rain which has caused chaos in England blighted Boxing Day plans north of the Border.

One member of the public has to carry his dog as the Water of Leith burst its banks near the Dean Village. Picture: Toby Williams

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued seven flood alerts and 16 flood warnings for Scotland, while the Met Office issued a yellow warning of rain for southern Scotland, Grampian and the Highlands.

Sepa has “be prepared” flood alerts in place in Dundee and Angus, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City, Edinburgh and Lothians and Fife and Dumfries and Galloway, while the “flooding is expected” warning was in place for 16 areas in the Borders and Tayside.

Ferries were cancelled in the north of the country while sporting fixtures and other events were postponed amid downpours.

Rail chiefs warned that there could be disruption to services between Scotland and the north of England over the weekend as further bad weather was predicted for today.

In the Outer Hebrides, CalMac ferry sailings were cancelled for the day in North Uist and South Uist. Services have also been affected on Bute and the Isle of Lewis.

Water submerged the Water of Leith path at both Dean Village and Roseburn in Edinburgh.

“Interesting morning run/paddle,” wrote jogger Ray Slaine on Twitter.

Traffic Scotland warned that motorists should be careful driving over surface water on the roads in the Fife and Loth­ian and Borders regions, while Police Scotland said that some drivers had failed to heed div­ersions and warnings.

Inspector Bryan Burns of Police Scotland said: “The Borders has seen a significant amount of rain fall since Christmas Day and this is set to continue. As such, there has been localised flooding and a number of roads are now closed, including the A698 Denholm to Hawick, B6405 Denholm to Minto, along with various unclassified roads throughout the region and loc­al diversions are in place.

“Unfortunately, a minority of drivers are choosing to ignore the diversions and are instead taking the chance of driving through flood waters. I remind motorists to please take note of the diversions. It may add some time on to your journey but they are there for a good reason to keep you safe.”

He added: “If your journey is absolutely necessary then please plan ahead and allow for extra time for possible delays.

“Also ensure that you have with you a charged mobile phone and warm clothing in case you get into difficulties.”

The Met Office said: “Please be aware of the potential for flooding and disruption to transport. Over southern Scotland the likelihood of medium impacts remains very low.”

A message on Virgin Trains’ website said the bad weather could cause disruption. It said: “Customers travelling on Virgin Trains services between Glasgow/Edinburgh and Preston on Sunday, 27 December should check the status of their train before commencing travel.”

The rain was due to move southwards late last night.