Damage and disruption as Storm Ciara blows in

Storm Ciara has brought flooding, travel disruption and power cuts as it swept across Scotland.

The storm brought wind speeds in excess of 80mph, while heavy rain led to flooding and damage to property.

In Perth, three people were injured after part of a pub roof collapsed after being hit by a chimney breast.

In Hawick in the Scottish Borders the front of a guest house collapsed after the building's foundations were swept away by the River Teviot.

Met Office warnings for strong winds and heavy rain remain in force for much of Sunday.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has also issued multiple flood warnings for many parts.

In Hawick, Bridge House guest house was partially destroyed after a swollen River Teviot washed away the building's foundations causing the front of the property to collapse.

Police said no-one was injured in the incident and a cordon had been place around the building.

Police in Dumfries said the River Nith burst its banks at Whitesands and flooded the surrounding road. They urged people to avoid the area in anticipation of high tide at 11:00.

Scottish Borders Council has also warned locals in Galashiels, Selkirk, Kelso and Jedburgh about the possibility of local rivers rising because of heavy rain.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said about 900 properties were without power after Storm Ciara affected supplies in Mull and Lochearnhead in Perthshire.

The company said it had restored power to about 2,000 properties throughout Sunday morning after winds damaged overhead power lines.

SP Energy Networks said supplies were also affected by the storm in the south-west, with outages in Lockerbie, Newton Stewart and Kirkcudbright.

The fire service said three people were passed into the care of the ambulance service after a chimney breast fell onto a pub roof in St John's Street in Perth.

Police said a cordon had been placed around the area until the damage could be assessed by experts.

In a Facebook post, staff at The Venue said: "Thankfully nobody has been seriously harmed but the business will be closed until we find out the extent of the damage caused to our building."

Rail companies, including Scotrail, have urged passengers to check ahead before travelling and warned they will be operating reduced timetables and speed restrictions on Sunday.

In Edinburgh, passengers due to travel on cross-border rail services from Waverley Station were being asked not to go to the station because of the number of travellers already waiting for services heading south.

Staff said the station remained open to passengers wishing to travel within Scotland, but those heading south were being asked to make other arrangements. The last cross-border services were due to leave Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon.

Avanti West Coast, which runs rail services between London and Scotland, took the decision not to run trains north of Preston, as a result of the impact of Storm Ciara.

Network Rail said services would not be operating through Saltcoats because of waves crashing over the sea wall. Services between Kilwinning, Largs and Ardrossan are also affected.

There are also reports of fallen trees causing problems.

The line between Elgin and Keith is currently blocked. Network Rail said it was working to clear the route.

In Aberdeenshire, road users were being urged to be cautious after a number 61 bus was blown over on the Newburgh Road in severe gales.

The driver reported that he and all the passengers had escaped the incident unharmed.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for wind and rain. The wind warning will remain in force until midnight and covers the whole of Scotland. A yellow warning for rain covering the southern half of Scotland is also in force until midnight.

An earlier amber warning for heavy rain for the south-west of the country lapsed at 10:00 on Sunday.

The weather has also resulted in Scotland women's Six Nations match against England at Scotstoun being postponed.

The game was due to kick off at 12:10 in Glasgow, but officials said a decision for player, spectator and staff safety had been taken to call off the match.

Ferry services

CalMac is warning passengers that its services remain liable to disruption due to the weather and are urging passengers to check ahead before travelling.

Sources of advice during severe weather include: