Trains cancelled as yellow weather warning extended in Scotland

The rain warning has been extended to Perth where some roads have had to be closed because of flooding

Train services have been cancelled as Scotland's yellow rain warning is extended in the wake of Storm Babet.

ScotRail says there will be no direct services between the central belt and Aberdeen and Inverness until Sunday.

The Met Office yellow warning is in place in areas badly hit by Storm Babet flooding, which claimed three lives in Scotland.

The warning now extends to include Perth, Fife, Edinburgh and Stirling and runs until midnight on Monday.

It also affects Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

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Perthshire, Angus and Aberdeenshire were among the worst-affected areas during the storm.

Up to 40 tonnes of mud was removed from the streets of Invergowrie alone during a clean-up operation.

ScotRail has warned customers there will be disruption to services.

Those travelling between the central belt and Aberdeen and Inverness will need to change at Perth (for travel to Inverness) and Dundee (for travel to Aberdeen) as there will be no direct ScotRail services from Friday until Sunday.

ScotRail will operate more localised shuttle services between Aberdeen and Dundee, and between Inverness and Perth.

Speed restrictions will be in place as a safety precaution, which means services may be subject to delay or cancellation.

LNER services between Edinburgh and Aberdeen are cancelled and a rail replacement service will run instead.

The operator also said its services between Edinburgh and Newcastle will be subject to minor delays due to speed restrictions.

TransPennine Express will be running a limited service between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh only, with a heavily reduced service running between Edinburgh and Newcastle.

Most trains will be revised to start and terminate at Newcastle and are not calling at stations towards Edinburgh.

Customers should check their journeys before travelling.

The Met Office said the rain would be "much less heavy" than last week but may lead to flooding if it falls on already saturated ground.

Forecasters warned that spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures, and may lead to delays or cancellations to train and bus services.

What happened during Storm Babet?

A man was rescued from a property in Brechin, Angus last week

Last week saw two red weather alerts - which are usually rare - covering parts of eastern Scotland.

Torrential rain and high winds saw rivers burst their banks, flooding defences breached, homes damaged and dozens of people rescued.

On Thursday Perthshire businesswoman Wendy Taylor, 57, died after being swept away in the Water of Lee, Glen Esk.

John Gillan, 56, was also killed after a falling tree hit his van near Forfar.

Peter Pelling was found dead in his car which was swept away in flood water

A third man - later identified as 61-year-old Peter Pelling, from Arbroath - was reported missing after he became trapped in his car, which was swept away in flood water in Marykirk, Aberdeenshire.

Police found his body inside the vehicle following a three-day search.

Extreme conditions continued into Friday, with downpours extending through England and Wales, closing schools and causing widespread travel disruption.

Power had to be restored to thousands of properties across the UK and dozens of people were put into emergency accommodation.

At Leeds Bradford Airport a holiday jet skidded off a runway as it came in to land amid wet and windy conditions. The incident resulted in the closure of the airport.

The clean-up

While councils workers heave mud and debris from streets, insurers are urging those with flood-damaged homes to get in touch as soon as possible - but this process is time consuming.

The first minister has confirmed that the Scottish government has activated the Bellwin scheme, a discretionary fund which is designed to help councils that face extra costs as a result of large-scale emergencies.

Speaking as he toured flood-hit Brechin in Angus on Monday, Humza Yousaf said cash aid would be made available for the areas after councillors called for help.

Insurers are urging homeowners to get in touch as soon as possible

The scheme has been activated a number of times in recent years including after storms Eva and Frank battered Scotland over Christmas and New Year 2015. Millions of pounds of aid was given to repair damage across the Borders and Aberdeenshire.

It was also used to help with disruption caused by the "Beast from the East" cold wave in February 2018.

Previous cold weather conditions and storms are estimated to have cost the Scottish economy up to £700m ($846m), according to a report by accountants PwC.