Overnight rain brings Dumfries and Galloway flood problems

Heavy overnight rain on Wednesday caused flooding problems in a number of areas of Dumfries and Galloway.

The River Nith overflowed onto the nearby road, prompting the closure of the Whitesands in Dumfries with a number of businesses affected.

Flooding was also reported in the village of Carsphairn with people evacuated from their homes.

The CatStrand theatre in New Galloway was forced to cancel all events due to "major flooding".

By late afternoon, high winds were also having an effect with about 2,000 homes left without power - mainly in the west of the region.

Work was ongoing to try to reconnect them but at 22:30 1,000 customers were still cut off.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it had been called out to deal with the situation in Carsphairn.

"We received a call from the police at 11:35pm and immediately sent an appliance from Dalmellington," a fire service spokesman said.

"Our crew assessed the situation and found eight properties affected by approximately six inches of flood water.

"Firefighters isolated the electrical supply in each property and devised an evacuation plan in consultation with police officers.

"No-one was in need of rescue and this was a precautionary measure in case it became necessary to remove residents."

He said the crew worked "several hours" to clear water and a second vehicle was sent out at about 03:00 to help with the operation until the properties were cleared of water.

Follow all the latest updates on the situation on our South of Scotland Live Page.