North Berwick harbour severely damaged by huge waves

The harbour wall at North Berwick has been "severely damaged" by huge waves in sea surges over the weekend.

North Berwick Harbour Trust said the 400-year-old stone structure had been breached on Sunday by sea swells leaving a five-metre wide (16ft) gap.

The walkway partially collapsed in a further breach at high tide at 03:00 on Monday.

No one was hurt and boats were moved on Sunday afternoon day to avoid damage overnight.

The harbour is leased from East Lothian Council and managed by the volunteer-run North Berwick Harbour Trust charity, which maintains and conserves the site.

The charity said it was looking for emergency funding and support to help restore the harbour wall.

Andrew Duns, the charity's treasurer, said the council would be sending structural engineers to inspect the damage but they were confident that the harbour could be repaired.

"The harbour directly employs about 35 people, but is also one of the biggest tourist attractions in East Lothian," he said.

"The breach happened on the historic part of the harbour - that bit is the original part of the sea defence that's about 400 years old.

"We expect this afternoon at high tide for some more damage to come and maybe some more overnight."

A team of volunteers had only recently finished a clear-up from Storm Babet, which left glass, tarmac and debris across part of the harbour and destroyed kayak racks and timber planters.

Mr Duns added: "We inspected the wall last week and it was fine, but it was the combination of very high tides and this weekend's storm.

"The big challenge is to get the funding, but we will rebuild it - we can't just leave it as it is."

Meanwhile, in Montrose, "significant parts" of the promenade collapsed in the storm surges overnight.

Angus Council said they had become "weakened by storm and rain" and urged people to keep away.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), a spokesperson said: "It's difficult to prevent access to the highly unstable edge but please stay away as contractors are on site and it's just not safe."

It has closed the road and footpath on Trail Drive between the Beach car park and the Coastguard Station and cordoned off the boardwalk to the beach.

St Andrews Aquarium has been another victim of the storms.

The attraction's seal pool had to be evacuated on Sunday night, when huge sea swells ripped apart the steel fencing around the enclosure and washed away the viewing deck.

The visitor attraction set to be closed for "a number of months" after being badly damaged in the storms.

The owners said all the animals were safe and being cared for and will be re-homed while repairs are under way.

Owner John Mace said: ; "We are just devastated by the damage caused. Our team were on site through the night and luckily managed to move our seals before the enclosure fencing was destroyed, but it could have been a lot worse.

"To stand by and look on at the family business you've built over many years be destroyed in a few hours is very difficult to take.

"We've got a very long road ahead of us and will work to repair the damage as quickly as possible, but we are looking at a prolonged period of closure."