Shut West Coast mainline as hatches for wettest August

of Dumfries and the A74( M) near Kirkpatrick Fleming, were hit by flooding. The adverse conditions were not restricted to the south, with Dornoch Bridge in the Highlands closed to high- sided vehicles and the Strathpeffer Highland Gathering cancelled after the car park flooded.

Meanwhile, the Met Office issued fresh warnings of rain and thunderstorms across the UK. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had 14 flood alerts in place and one more serious flood warning.

Forecasters said intermittent heavy showers and sunny spells will persist in the coming days.

Scotland could be heading for the wettest August since records began after this month’s heavy rainfall.

Tyndrum in Stirlingshire has been the wettest place in the country so far with 117mm of rain – the Scottish average for August having fallen there already this month. The wettest August since records began 119 years ago was in 1985 when 216.5mm fell in a month. A Met Office spokesman told The Sunday Post: “We could still see some hefty downpours yet, causing tricky driving conditions. “Sunny spells and showers are expected over coming days. Conditions are expected to remain unsettled for the next week or so.” RNLI Lifeguards posted a warning after the downpours caused a number of beaches to be red- flagged due to poor water quality.

The organisation advised members of the public to avoid entering the water yesterday following live bathing water quality updates provided by SEPA.

Meanwhile, varied weather conditions meant f re e sunglasses were handed out yesterday at a major cycling event washed out by the rain just a day earlier.

Participants in thewomen’s Tour of Scotland event enjoyed good conditions just 24 hours after storms forced a temporary cancellation. The 87- mile second stage of the event yesterday saw cyclists race from Glasgow to Perth. The final stage takes place today, starting and ending in Edinburgh.