Drivers injured and power cuts as Storm Éowyn hits Scotland

Two drivers were injured, buildings were damaged and thousands of homes have been left without power as Storm Eowyn swept across Scotland.

One driver was seriously hurt in a single vehicle collision in Mauchline, East Ayrshire at about 07:10 on Friday, while another was injured when a van was struck by a falling tree in Glasgow at about 09:00.

But police confirmed the death of a 49-year-old man, who was discovered unresponsive on a street in Irvine, North Ayrshire, was not weather-related.

Almost 117,000 households are currently without power, while schools have been closed and many transport services suspended.

A red weather warning for areas of central, southern and western Scotland expired at 17:00 but an amber wind alert remains in place until midnight.

The Scottish government's resilience room met to assess the situation at 13:30 on Friday.

Afterwards First Minister John Swinney said utility companies were working at pace to restore power as quickly as possible.

But he said there were "still too many lorries on the road" and urged HGV drivers to heed police warnings not to travel.

A gust of 100.7mph was officially recorded at Drumalbin in South Lanarkshire while another of gust of 102mph was reported on the Tay Road Bridge.

People have been urged against leaving their homes due to danger from flying debris, coastal overtopping, falling trees and damage to buildings.

Transport Scotland said the M9 was closed in both directions between J8 and 9 due to multiple fallen trees.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes urged people still to take care this evening as the red wind warning is moved down to the amber level.

She told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime that the amber warning was "still serious" and road users should heed the advice of police who continue to warn against travel.

Ms Forbes also said the emergency services should not be put at risk after it emerged officers responded to at least 11 incidents of lorries overturning due to high winds.

The deputy first minister also told the programme no employer should put employees under pressure to ignore police advice.

Forecasters had issued a rare red warning ahead of Eowyn's arrival and predicted the storm could be the most destructive to hit Scotland's central belt in 13 years.

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The full extent of the damage is still being assessed but there were numerous reports of damaged buildings and infrastructure.

ScotRail said customers should not expect any trains to operate before 12:00 on Saturday.

It also confirmed items on the line included a trampoline, a sofa, shed roofs and wheelie bins.

Ferry operator CalMac said services would remain suspended until at least 10:00 while it carried out safety inspections.

The gable end of a Co-op store at Denny near Falkirk collapsed but there were no reports of injuries.

Celtic Park was damaged during the storm and an inspection will take place in the morning to determine whether the club's Scottish Premiership match against Dundee can go ahead.

In Inverclyde, Greenock Morton Football Club's Cappielow ground has had sections of its roof ripped apart by the storm, while the roof of a leisure centre in Helensburgh has also been devastated by high winds.

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, a 400-year-old tree with connections to Mary Queen of Scots has also been severely damaged.

A number of branches on the Darnley Sycamore – said to be where Mary Stuart nursed Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley back to health after a long illness – were blown off during high winds.

Police in Edinburgh warned residents not to leave their homes and inspect damaged buildings due to the risk of further falling debris.

SP Energy Networks confirmed its engineers are working to restore power to 68,000 customers.

Power firm SSEN said it had restored services to more than 30,000 homes but, as of 17:45, a total of 48,940 were without power.

Forth Valley Royal Hospital was also affected by a brief power outage, during which it used back-up generators, but the issue has now been resolved.

Ferries, flights and rail services were cancelled, while police launched a dedicated operation to support lorry drivers stranded after booking onto sea crossings.

Police Scotland said the A1 was closed between the Spott Roundabout and Cockburnspath due to a "number of overturned vehicles".

Sepa issued a number of flood warnings for western areas and Dumfries and Galloway.

Network Rail, which has responsibility for the railway lines and station, said its engineers would be working around the clock into Saturday.

Inspections were taking place as the winds subside, but it warned significant recovery work would be needed before trains could run again.

Ross Moran, Network Rail Scotland route director, said: "This storm has caused extensive damage across Scotland's Railway bringing trees down onto the tracks and overhead powerlines and also damaging stations and other structures."

Edinburgh Airport suspended all flights for the duration of the red weather warning, and warned of continuing disruption on Friday evening.

One flight from London Stansted early in the day attempted to land several times before abandoning its approach and diverting to Cologne, Germany, about 762 miles (1,226km) away.

Glasgow Airport operated a limited service, while all but a handful of flights from Aberdeen Airport – which faced an amber warning – were cancelled.

The red weather warning for areas of central, southern and western Scotland expired at 17:00 but amber and yellow wind alerts remain in place until midnight.

There was also a yellow warning for snow, until midnight on Friday covering parts of central Scotland, Tayside, Fife, Grampian, the Highlands and Islands and Argyll & Bute.

A further yellow warning for snow and ice covering the northern mainland and central belt, from midnight until 11:00 Saturday, was issued by the Met Office on Friday morning.

It is estimated up to 25cm of snow could fall in areas above 300m, but icy stretches are expected to form on untreated surfaces across the country as temperatures fall below freezing.

Other amber and yellow alerts for wind are also in place on Saturday.

BBC Scotland weather presenter Judith Ralston said a storm of such severity was a very rare event.

"This is an intense storm - once in a generation if not rarer," she said.