Storm Ashley clean-up begins after high winds and flooding

1 month ago 9

BBC Coastguard van at beach with grey skies and rough seas behind a line of police tape.

The clean-up will begin later after Storm Ashley brought high winds and flood alerts to the Western Isles and northern Scotland on Sunday.

Ferries, flights and trains was disrupted during amber and yellow weather warnings, with winds of up to 80mph recorded.

An injured passenger was airlifted from a ferry between Aberdeen and Orkney on Sunday evening after falling on board in rough conditions.

Earlier, police said a man, woman and young boy were taken to hospital after getting into difficulty in the sea at Aberdeen Beach.

Officers attended along with the Coastguard and the Scottish Ambulance Service, who urged members of the public to leave the beach due to "unsafe conditions".

Police Scotland said the three people safely got out of the water in "exceptional weather" and had been checked over in hospital.

Watch: Stormy waters and high winds as Storm Ashley hits Scotland

Environment agency Sepa had issued a series of flood warnings.

Ferry operator CalMac cancelled almost all of its Sunday sailings, cutting off services to the islands including Arran, Bute, Lewis and Harris.

Western Ferries, which operates the Dunoon-Gourock route, also suspended services on Sunday evening due to the worsening conditions.

P&O Ferries cancelled sailings between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in Scotland's south west.

Dozens of flights were also cancelled at Belfast City Airport and Dublin Airport, mainly impacting Aer Lingus flights.

A map showing the yellow alert area covering the Northern Isles and the whole of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland and parts of north and west England. Within the yellow area is a smaller amber alert shaded areas covering the Western Isles and western Scotland from Argyll to Cape Wrath, as well as North Ireland. For both areas the warning for high winds, and the warning in the south west of England is for rain.

Some trains in Scotland were also cancelled, with many routes subject to speed restrictions.

ScotRail paused services between Kilwinning and Largs/Ardrossan due to waves coming over the sea wall at Saltcoats and reaching overhead lines.

Train speed restrictions were in place for services in the west and north Highlands, Ayrshire, Stranraer and between Perth and Inverness.

ScotRail warned that services on Monday could be affected by trees and debris on the track.

Meteorologists say Storm Ashley, the first named storm of the season, saw a rapid drop of pressure as it moved in from the Atlantic on Saturday - a phenomenon called a "weather bomb".

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