Power cuts and schools closed as Storm Otto hits

Around 30,000 homes were left without power and dozens of schools closed as Storm Otto caused disruption across Scotland and northern England.

The first named storm of the year brought widespread winds of more than 60mph, with Cairngorm mountain recording speeds of 120mph.

High winds and fallen trees have caused damage to vehicles and buildings.

Trains, buses and ferry services have been delayed or cancelled, with trees blocking many routes in Aberdeenshire.

A Met Office yellow warning for high winds across most of Scotland was in place from 03:00 until midday. A warning for the Borders and north east England remained until 14:00.

In Sheffield a man in his 50s was taken to hospital in a serious condition after a tree fell on Endcliffe Vale Road at about 08:50.

Meanwhile, Police Scotland said a man was injured at Mintlaw Filling Station in Aberdeenshire after the garage roof was damaged. He was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment.

More than 100 schools in Aberdeenshire were closed, with almost 50 in Highland and a handful in Moray affected. Buckie High School in Moray was damaged by the high winds.

North East Scotland College in Aberdeen also closed following damage to the roof of its city campus.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said 30,000 homes were left without power in Aberdeenshire, Moray and Inverness-shire.

But by 15:45 on Friday that number had been reduced to 18,000.

Mark Rough, operations director at SSEN Distribution, said: "Due to the extent of damage, some customers are likely to remain off supply for over 48 hours. 

"We're doing everything we can to restore power as quickly as possible."

Around 1,300 homes in Ripon and 1,330 homes near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, were also without power.

Northern Powergrid reported outages in Northumberland, Darlington and Leeds, with power for most not expected to be restored until 19:00.

North Yorkshire Police said they received "numerous calls" involving high-sided vehicles being blown over on the A1(M) and other routes, and urged motorists to "slow down".

In Scotland, height restrictions were put in place on the Forth Road, Tay, Erskine and Dornoch bridges.

ScotRail warned passengers of disruption and placed speed restrictions on trains across the network.

The train operator said on Twitter: "We have had to implement an emergency timetable for many areas across the country. Services are likely to be delayed and may have to be cancelled."

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) also said a number of services had been cancelled

Cairngorm Mountain snows sports centre, near Aviemore, was closed and Inverness Airport warned passengers the weather would cause delays to some flights.

Leeds Bradford Airport remained open but a spokesperson said the weather had caused disruption to flight schedules.

BBC Scotland Weather said gusts of 83mph had been recorded in Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire, and 80mph in Lossiemouth, Moray, and at Tain in the Highlands.

The storm was named Otto by the Danish Met Office. The UK Met Office has adopted the same name.

It is the first named storm to hit the UK since Franklin last February.

The Met Office's season for named storms runs from September to September, and the names are given to raise awareness of severe weather.

An overnight yellow warning for snow and ice for most of the Scotland has also been issued. It will be in place from 23:00 until 09:00 on Saturday.

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