Scottish communities remain on flood alert

Residents in Canal Road in Inverurie were forced to leave their flooded homes

Communities across Scotland remain on flood alert after further heavy rainfall overnight.

The Met Office has an amber "be prepared" warning in place for parts of Tayside and Central, with yellow "be aware" warnings covering Grampian and the Scottish Borders.

On Monday evening, residents in Inverurie in Aberdeenshire were evacuated from their homes after the River Don burst its banks.

Many roads were closed by flood water.

The A83 was shut at the Rest and be Thankful to allow operators to remove a boulder using explosives.

The Queen's Bridge in Perth was closed as water levels rose

The Scottish Environment Agency (Sepa) had more than 30 flood warnings in place late on Monday evening, and four flood alerts.

People were warned people to stay away from the banks of the Tay in Perth, where the city's flood defence scheme was said to be facing its most significant test since it was built more than a decade ago.

The gates were closed at Perth Harbour and on the Queen's Bridge as water levels rose.

In Inverurie, a rest centre was set up in a local school after residents were evacuated from their homes in Canal Road.

Water levels in Kintore were also being monitored with a rest centre opened at the village hall as a precaution.

Firefighters had been working to pump out water on Canal Road in Inverurie

Homes were flooded near Coupar Angus on Monday

Earlier on Monday, homes were flooded in Coupar Angus and some properties in Aboyne - including two care homes - were evacuated as a precaution.

Police Scotland said Aberdeenshire Council moved residents from Bonty Court as a precaution. Allachburn Care Home was also evacuated.

What have we done to make the flooding worse?

There were also fears for the future of the historic Abergeldie Castle in Aberdeenshire which was on the brink of collapsing into a swollen River Dee.

The castle's owners were forced to evacuate the 16th century A-listed tower house on Sunday, after the river swept away about 60ft (18m) of land behind the property, leaving it only a few feet from the water.

Abergeldie Castle was left on the brink of collapse

Specialist firefighters helped rescue an elderly couple in Blairgowrie on Monday

In Blairgowrie, a Coastguard helicopter and specialist firefighters rescued an elderly couple from their home which was in danger of being flooded.

Aberdeen RNLI volunteers were drafted in to Ballater again to help reconnect telephone wires by using rockets normally used to pass ropes in rescues at sea.

Network Rail said trains on the west coast mainline would be disrupted for a number of weeks as work to repair the damaged Lamington Viaduct continues until the end of January.