Beer shortage fear as barley and wheat wilt in heatwave

SCOTS have been blissfully soaking up the summer sun but the heatwave may have some unexpected consequences – a shortage of beer.

The hot weather has had a devastating effect on the nation’s wheat and barley crops.

George Anderson of TV’s Beechgrove Garden said: ‘This could be a bad sign for beer. Crops in the fields are bleaching rather than swelling and ripening. What you want is a good, plump grain full of sugar – the whole process could be affected.’

The National Farmers Union believes the worst of the damage is being faced by barley planted in the spring, which has hardly felt rain.

Much of this crop is used by Scotland’s brewing industry and it is estimated production could be halved.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has also warned that water is now in ‘significant scarcity’ in several areas, including the North-East.

It said it would take a month of ‘exceptional’ rainfall to return levels to near normal.

Sepa also suggested that by the end of this month, Scotland will have suffered its driest six-month period for 34 years.

There has been some respite over the past few days thanks to heavy rain and thunderstorms. Torrential downpours had been forecast for West-Central Scotland last night and the Met Office said more than an inch of rain could fall by midnight.

Meanwhile, Scots holidaymakers faced a series of delays and cancellations at Prestwick, Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports last night thanks to the summer storms.

A Ryanair flight from Barcelona, due into Prestwick at 6.40pm, was cancelled, which meant the return 7.10pm flight was axed as well. There was also a seven-hour delay to a Ryanair flight from Prestwick to Palma in Majorca.

At Glasgow, the 7.25pm easyjet service to Belfast was cancelled. And at Edinburgh, Brussels Airlines warned of a seven-hour delay to its arriving flight from the Belgian capital.