Scotland storm: Oil vessels broke anchors in winds

Trees were blown down in Aberdeen, including in Hazlehead

An offshore operation is under way to secure two linked oil vessels which broke their anchors in the North Sea in Scotland's severe gales.

The Petrojarl Banff, which has 4,400 tonnes of crude oil on board, lost tension in five of its 10 anchors and drifted up to 250m.

The Apollo Spirit, with 96,300 tonnes of oil, lost tension in one of its eight anchors but remained secure.

There has been no report of pollution at the site, 190km east of Aberdeen.

Parts of coastal road in Hoy were badly damaged

The Petrojarl Banff, a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, is now stable about 70m from its original position.

An anchor handling vessel is on site and four others have been mobilised to assist.

All 67 crew on board the two vessels have been accounted for and the UK government classed the situation as "low risk".

The Scottish government said it was monitoring the situation and was being kept fully informed.

High winds caused serious damage in the north east of Scotland and the Northern Isles overnight.

On Orkney, where winds of up to 138.5mph have been recorded, all schools have closed and hundreds of homes were without power.

In Aberdeen, several families were evacuated from a tenement in the Kincorth area after the gable end of a house collapsed on to a car.

About 9,000 households were without power in the north east of Scotland.

The majority of the Orkney homes without power later had it restored.

Kirkwall was among the Orkney areas battered overnight

Sections of coastal road were swept away, and flights and ferry services were severely disrupted.

Areas of Aberdeenshire affected by power loss included Banchory, Ballater, Inverurie, Fochabers and Stonehaven.

Grampian Police said several motorists had driven into fallen trees on roads.

Grampian Fire and Rescue Service dealt with 75 storm-related call-outs on Thursday night.

Crews put out grass fires caused by electrical cables coming down.

Overnight, severe winds washed away part of a causeway road on the Orkney island of Hoy.

High winds across Shetland have led to the cancellation of inter-island ferries to and from Unst, Yell and Whalsay.

Seven Shetland schools - Aith Junior High and the primaries at Skeld, Sandness, Happyhansel, Olnafirth, Mossbank and Urafirth - were shut, with Hamnavoe Primary closing at 13:30.

Heavy trampolines were flipped over in the high winds in Aberdeen, including Airyhall

In Aberdeenshire, several schools were closed. Fraserburgh Academy will also be closed on Monday due to storm damage.

Aberdeen Airport said there was some disruption to early flights but things were getting back to normal. Kirkwall flights have been cancelled.

Aberdeen Coastguard said several liferafts and other equipment were swept from vessels.