Edinburgh Princes Street swamped by downpour as deluge triggers 'flash flooding'

Edinburgh Princes Street shoppers have been left wading across swamped pavements as heavy rain drenched the city.

The capital's main shopping street and surrounding areas have been battered with heavy, thunderous rain on Friday afternoon.

Pictures taken on the thoroughfare show soaked pedestrians battling the inclement weather at around 2pm. Edinburgh Live understands many areas have suffered 'flash flooding' including Corstorphine and Leith.

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Huge puddles of water surrounded shops on Princes Street including the Royal House of Scotland. Bus stops were also inundated as many pedestrians made their way along the street with their umbrellas.

One customer told Edinburgh Live shoppers were stopped from entering the Sainsbury's supermarket in Gorgie due to flooding on the shop floor.

She said: "It wasn't officially closed as people were still inside when I was leaving but security weren't allowing people to enter and were telling them it was closed due to flooding.

"One security guard said it might only be for 30 minutes so not sure how long for. The big floor cleaning machines were coming out as I was leaving."

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The Met Office forecast for Edinburgh on Friday predicated wet conditions. The forecast reads: "A few showers at first, possibly heavy in places. These soon dying out through the evening. Clearer spells developing for many places, but cloudier towards the south. Minimum temperature 6°C."

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It's also predicted that rain showers will continue on Saturday with the forecast reading: "Dry with some brightness first thing, but clouding over through the morning. Showers or longer spells of rain arriving through the afternoon, these heavy at times. Maximum temperature 16 °C."

You can read the full forecast here.