Storm brings flooding and travel chaos

Extreme weather battered Stirling on Tuesday evening - leaving behind a trail of travel disruption and phone line issues in its wake.

Thunderstorms swept across most of the eastern half of Scotland over the course of Tuesday evening, bringing with it heavy rain and spectacular lightning which lit up the evening sky.

However, the weather also led to widespread flooding on local roads, with two major routes in the centre of Stirling - Burghmuir Road and Spittal Street closed for the entirety of the Wednesday morning rush as schools returned for the first time.

The travel disruption was also seen on the trains, with damage to overhead lines and flooding continuing to affect the main lines running through Stirling and Dunblane stations into Thursday morning, causing major revisions to the service.

A landslip near Stonehaven also caused an Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street Scotrail service - which runs through Stirling station - to derail on Wednesday morning, causing the death of three people, including the train’s driver and conductor.

Schools and community centres across the region also didn’t escape the impact of the storms, with eight schools left without internet on Wednesday, while a number of other sites - including the Killin Library, Aberfoyle Local Office and the Balfour Centre in Plean - were also unable to connect.

Council officials confirmed the internet issues across the various sites were resolved by Thursday morning, with the exception of some continuing issues at Cowie Community Centre.