Fishing crew rescued as Storm Aiden sweeps in
- Published
The fishing boat was secured to a fish farm mooring while it awaited help
The crew of a fishing boat was rescued after breaking down as Storm Aiden battered Scotland.
The four people on board the 22ft (6.7m) vessel managed to secure it to a fish farm mooring in Loch Etive in Argyll while they waited for help.
The RNLI lifeboat from Oban towed the boat to safety as winds gusted at 60 mph.
Elsewhere a shipping alert has been issued after 33 containers were lost overboard in the Pentland Firth.
Two of the empty 40ft (12m) containers have since washed ashore at South Hoy in Orkney and a coastguard aircraft has been helping to look for the others.
Storm Aiden led to flood warnings and travel disruption as it passed across the country.
At the height of the storm, severe gales were forecast in the north of Scotland. An emergency towing vessel was sent to help a large cargo ship that suffered engine failure north west of Shetland but was stood down after the crew made repairs.
In the Loch Etive rescue, the RNLI team initially towed the fishing boat back to Taynuilt but the pier there was mostly submerged and it would have been difficult to get the crew ashore.
Winds were gusting at 60mph during the operation
Instead the boat was secured to a mooring in Airds Bay and the crew were taken to Dunstaffnage marina.
Ally Cerexhe, Oban lifeboats coxswain said "With the bad weather set to continue for the rest of the weekend, please take extra care when visiting the coast and think twice about heading out on the water in these conditions.
"Although the lochs may appear to provide some shelter, the strong winds and high tides still pose the same risk."
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) still had 22 flood warnings in place on Sunday while the Met Office had a weather warning for high winds in the Western Isles and the north west.
Sepa duty manager Mark Franklin said: "We are expecting rainfall over the south west this afternoon and evening which may lead to flooding impacts from rivers and surface water in Dumfries and Galloway.
"We have a number of warnings out in the north east after yesterday's rainfall but the rivers should peak later today. Impacts may include flooding of land and roads, disruption to travel and difficult driving conditions."
A trampoline disrupted services at Queens Park in Glasgow on Saturday
A road in Helensburgh was closed on Saturday after large chunks of masonry fell from a building that was in a poor state of repair.
Many ferries were cancelled, and train services in Glasgow were suspended for a time after a trampoline blew onto the line at Queens Park.
The A83 Rest and Be Thankful remains closed after heavy rain but the Old Military Road local diversion route has now reopened - although it will close again as a precaution on Sunday evening from 18:00.
Eddie Ross of Bear Scotland said: "Safety has to come first and as ever we thank the local community and road users for their patience while we address the situation at the Rest.
"Argyll remains very much open for business and we ask road users to plan their journey in advance by checking Traffic Scotland for the real-time travel information."