Fire service receives more than 1000 emergency calls due to floods and landslips

THE torrential rain that led to the fatal train accident caused chaos across large parts of Scotland.

Perth and Kinross, the Lothians, Forth Valley, Fife and the north-east were among the areas worst hit by terrifying thunderstorms, lightning strikes and heavy downpours.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) received more than 1000 emergency calls overnight on Tuesday into Wednesday due to the severe weather.

In Stonehaven, Kincardineshire – just a few miles from where three people died after a train derailed – parts of the town centre were under more than a foot of water, with businesses and homes flooded.

Dozens of people had to be rescued from a caravan park in Fife that was hit by a landslide, while some residents in Aberdeen became trapped by the rising water and had to be moved by dinghy.

Ross Haggart, deputy chief officer of the SFRS, said: “This has been an extremely challenging night where we received an incredibly high number of calls, making this one of the busiest nights the service has seen this year.

“We have particularly seen high numbers of flooding calls from the Lothian, Falkirk and Fife areas, which were badly affected by serious rainfall.

“Crews also attended a number of other serious incidents, including road traffic collisions and fires, which may have been caused by the weather.”

SFRS said it was also called to

BY GORDON ROBERTSON multiple reports of flooding in Perthshire, with many homes affected.

Amateur photographer Connor McLaren, 25, captured shots of flood-hit Perth.

He said: “As soon as I saw the flashes I ran out of my house to get the pictures. It was around 11pm.

“I was really scared when I got out there. I was terrified. I have never seen a storm like that before.”

Hundreds of pupils who were scheduled to start their first day of secondary education at Perth High School were told to stay away at the last minute.

The new intake of S1 pupils were due to start yesterday along with S5 and S6 pupils returning to the school after five months.

But a message sent to parents at 8am stated: “Unfortunately, due to flooding, the school is closed to staff and pupils.”

One parent said: “The timing could not have been worse.

“You really couldn’t make it up after everything that’s happened over the last few months. So much work has gone into getting these pupils back in and then this happens.”

While the severe weather mainly hit the east coast, towns as far west as Airdrie also suffered flooding.

Firefighters rescued 14 people after a number of cars were submerged between junctions five and six of the M8 in Lanarkshire.

A section of the A68 between

Pathhead and Fala, Midlothian, was swept away during the storm.

Maintenance crews were working to repair the roadway yesterday but Amey South East, which maintains trunk roads in the region, warned that “clearly it will take some time”.

A 25-mile diversion route was put in place.

Another landslide in Fife caused the closure of the A921 between Kinghorn and Burntisland.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh residents