Some Shetland homes could be without power for days

Some homes in Shetland could be without power until the end of the week as engineers face "extremely challenging conditions", a energy firm has warned.

About 3,800 households are without power after snow and ice caused "extensive damage" to overhead cables.

SSEN Distribution said local teams described conditions as the worst they had seen in 20 years.

They hope to restore energy on Yell and Unst on Tuesday but customers in outlying islands face a longer wait.

"We expect to make progress today in restoring customers on Yell and Unst through repair of the main network, but due to the extent of damage, significant travel restrictions and continued issues accessing fault locations, full restoration of customers is likely to extend to the end of this week," the firm said.

"This is particularly the case for outlying islands and localised faults and further information will be shared once all faults are assessed."

SSEN Distribution said it was trying to identify people who might need extra help, and to help make welfare arrangements.

The power cuts are currently affecting homes in Voe, Whalsay, Brae, Tumblin, Yell and Unst.

They have been caused by "line icing", where snow and ice sticks to overhead power lines, weighing them down and causing them to break.

Mark Macdonald, head of region at SSEN Distribution, said engineers had been out since first light to continue restoration efforts despite the conditions.

He added: "We've seen extensive damage to the overhead power lines connecting homes and businesses, including multiple points of damage caused by snow and ice accretion which was not forecast.

"Our local teams have described the conditions as the worst they've seen in over 20 years.

"We're moving engineers from the mainland to Shetland to assist with restoration efforts and have multiple teams ready to travel, pending improvements in the current travel situation.

"We're also working with resilience partners to look at all alternative travel options."

Customers in a vulnerable position should get in touch on the power cut helpline. A further update is expected at 17:30.

Meanwhile, Shetland's Sumburgh Airport has announced that it is currently only operating emergency flights due to the power outages.

The airport told passengers to contact their airline to check flight status.

All schools on the islands will remain closed on Wednesday due to the uncertainty over travel and power.

Heavy snow has also caused chaos on the islands' roads, where about 40 vehicles were stuck on a hill at Weisdale on Monday.

Coastguard rescue teams were called in to help the stranded motorists, and it took seven hours to clear.

Neil Hutchison, from Shetland Islands Council's road department said on Tuesday morning that it could take several hours to clear the islands' roads.

"The first thing we'll be doing today is clearing the main roads," he told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland.

"That may take a bit of time given the amount of snow on them. And then of course we're moving on to the side roads - that'll be much later in the day, I'm afraid.

"I think the main problem is there's quite a lot of vehicles stuck in various places on the road network and that meant other vehicles weren't able to get past.

"Once we got those cleared people were able to move on. Unfortunately that took quite a while - that took into the early evening in some places."

Shetland author Ann Cleeves has tweeted that she lost her laptop "in the blizzard" on Monday.

She has offered a reward, saying there is half a novel saved on the computer.

The wintry weather looks set to continue as a Met Office yellow weather warning for snow and ice has been extended until 12:00 on Friday.

It covers the north and north-east of Scotland, Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles.

Forecasters say snow showers and icy surfaces will bring some travel disruption.

A temperature of -17.3C was recorded in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, early on Tuesday morning, making it the coldest night of the year so far.

Elsewhere in Scotland, some schools have been shut in Highland, Moray and Dumfries and Galloway due to the effects of the weather.

Police in Dumfries and Galloway have warned young people not to play on the ice, after receiving multiple calls from the public.

Snow has caused disruption to travel on the A9 near Inverness, and in Skye one driver had a lucky escape after his van came off the road near Uig.

A newly erected fence stopped his vehicle from going down a steep slope.

Meanwhile Aberdeen City Council has reported issues with buttons on traffic lights freezing due to the cold weather.

It said that engineers will be de-icing the units but warned they may freeze again.