Storm-Battered Scotland Begins To Recover

Power has been restored to most of the 50,000 homes in Scotland that lost electricity after hurricane-force winds battered northern Britain.

Gusts on Thursday reached 165mph, but are expected to peak at around 70mph today.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for the Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, northwest England, Northern Ireland and much of Scotland - two stages down from the red warnings in parts of Scotland on Thursday.

People are also being advised to be aware of icy conditions.

Emergency services worked overnight to clear fallen trees and debris from roads as the winds dropped.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond praised the response of emergency crews to the "once in a generation" storm.

"There have been thankfully no fatalities reported and that is a tribute to the work that was done in advance," he said during a visit to Hong Kong.

"Scotland's a very resilient country and we can take whatever Mother Nature throws at us."

Train services in Scotland have still been suffering disruption after some services were cancelled and speed restrictions were imposed across the network.

Thousands of schools across all but six of Scotland's 32 local authorities were shut by lunchtime on Thursday to allow pupils to get home safely, while police urged motorists to avoid the roads altogether.

Strong winds also forced the closure of every major bridge in Scotland: the Forth Road Bridge between Edinburgh and Fife; the Erskine Bridge, which connects Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire; the Skye Bridge; and Tay Road Bridge.

Glasgow was one of the worst-hit areas, with 71mph winds recorded at lunchtime, but the strongest gales were recorded in the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands.

A wind turbine at Ardrossan Wind Farm, near the A78 in North Ayrshire, was destroyed after it caught fire. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service said it had a high number of calls as the 328ft (100m) tall turbine could be seen "far and wide".

Two people were rescued by the RAF from a partially-submerged car near Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, and airlifted to hospital after being trapped in rising water from a swollen river.

They were suffering from suspected hypothermia, emergency services said.

Cumbria saw heavy rain, and police said they received several calls from motorists stuck in floodwater in Ambleside, Windermere, Troutbeck and Selside.

The Environment Agency issued seven flood alerts at different locations on 12 rivers and lakes in the county.