Thousands of homes without power as winds of up to 90mph batter much of Scotland

Thousands of homes were left without power after strong winds battered much of Scotland.

At least 5,000 customers in the North-east were left without power as Storm Arwen hit.

The Met Office yesterday upgraded their weather warning from Yellow, to Red, the highest possible level, warning ofstrongwindsofupto90mph, and waves as high as 10 metres.

The red warning stretched along the east coast from Middlesbrough to beyond Aberand was the first maximum alert to be issued since Stormdennisinfebruary2020.

Flood alerts and warnings were also issued across the north-east by Sepa.

The extreme weather threw Scotland’spublictransportnetwork into chaos as trains and ferry services were been cancelled for safety reasons.

Aberdeen to Inverness and Aberdeentodundeelineswere closed due to trees and debris on the lines, with the east coast line between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-tweed and the North Berwick line have also closed due to the weather.

Speaking on the delays and servicecancellations,karlgrewar, head of integrated control at Network Rail Scotland, said: “Stormarwenisbringingwind speeds of up to 90mph which are currently lashing parts of eastern Scotland it means we have had to reduce speed restrictions and close some lines to trains.”

Other rail and ferry services also faced cancellation and severe delays as a result of the extreme weather, with Calmac removing several services.

A section of the A1 was also closed in East Lothian between Haddington and the Thistly

Crossroundaboutduetostrong winds of up to 84mph being forecast. The route was closed entirely to high sided vehicles, withmotoristsdelayedbydiversions in the area.

Tommy Deans, BEAR Scotland’s network manager for South East Scotland, said: “This section of the A1 includes an exposed bridge over the River Tyne, so with gusts up to 84mph forecast this evening we’ve closed it to all traffic for safety, in line with the bridge’s wind management plan.”

Across much of the country, motorists were warned to expect delays with the Scottish

Government and police urging members of the public not to travel “under any circumstances”.

Superintendent Simon Bradshawfrompolicescotlandsaid: “The high winds being experienced along the coastal areas of the north, east and southern partsofscotlandhaveledtored weather warnings coming into effect and, as such, any motoristwithintheseaffectedregions should not travel under any circumstances.

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, said: “The decision by the Met Office to issue a rare red weather warndeen ing for strong winds signals a potentially damaging and dangerous risk to life in some areas of Scotland.”

In Edinburgh, the popular Christmas market was forced to close in preparation for the extreme weather, while popularitvprogrammei’macelebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! was broadcast as a pre-recorded show rather than live due to the extreme weather.

A man in Northern Ireland was killed after his car was hit by a falling tree as Storm Arwen struck.