Scotland battered by heavy rain and gales

Bad weather cuts off some villages, while train service between Carlisle and Glasgow will be closed for at least a month

Heavy rain and high winds have battered central and north-east Scotland with homes again threatened by flood waters and some villages in Aberdeenshire remaining cut off after Storm Frank caused damage to transport routes last week.

Local MSPs praised the "huge community spirit" as residents of a sheltered housing complex in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, were evacuated to the village scout hut on Monday afternoon, while the local Asda supermarket supplied food to the makeshift emergency centre.