Flood warnings issued for north-east England and Scotland

Torrential rain predicted a day after heavy showers brought flooding to north-east and Northern Ireland on Saturday Flood warnings are in place in north-east England and across Scotland after forecasters predicted more heavy rain in the areas. Parts of eastern Scotland could see nearly a month of rain fall in one day on Sunday after downpours swept across north-east England and Northern Ireland on Saturday. Newcastle United were forced to abandon their friendly against the Italian side Fiorentina at St James’ Park due to torrential rain. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has flood warnings in place for Dundee and Angus and Tayside. There are lesser flood alerts for Aberdeenshire, central and west central Scotland, Edinburgh and Lothians, Fife, and Scottish Borders. A flood warning remained in place for north-east England for the Rivers Pont and Blyth, with the Environment Agency warning river levels could rise. A spokeswoman for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: “It’s still looking pretty bad in Scotland at the moment … we are expecting about 60mm of rain, which is likely to be in eastern areas of Scotland.” Average rainfall for the whole month of August in that part of Scotland is 80mm, the spokeswoman said. She added that 35m of rain fell in Durham on Saturday, 37mm fell in Albemarle, north-east England, and 20mm fell in Strathallan, Scotland. Flood alerts remained in place across much of east and central Scotland, with two stronger warnings issued. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said the River Brothock, in Arbroath, Angus, would continue to rise through the day, creating a flood risk in the nearby town centre. Parts of Dundee may also be hit by localised flooding after up to 50mm of rain fell in the area. The Red Cross said volunteers had been called to help campers at the Belladrum Festival site, near Inverness, because of torrential rain. The charity said more than 60 people, mainly families with young children, were moved into a makeshift centre in a performance tent on higher ground by 5am. Ian Rideout, of the charity, said: “The fields at Belladrum were already soaked after heavy rain on Thursday and Friday. A series of torrential showers overnight on Saturday and into this morning saturated the ground, causing localised flooding. “The festival ended last night and those still camping are heading home today. Roads in the area are passable but many vehicles on the festival site are bogged down, stranding their owners.” The Northern Constabulary chief inspector, Jim Neil, the officer in charge of policing the festival, said: “The rain has caused campsites to flood, and there will be some challenges in terms of emptying the site. We urge people to be patient, and wish them a safe journey home.” On Saturday, emergency services in Durham dealt with several weather-related incidents, and Northumberland was also affected. A spokesman for County Durham and Darlington fire and rescue service said between 60 and 100 calls related to the weather had been received. Homeowners and motorists in the region were warned to be prepared as a band of rain moved northwards from East Anglia up to the north-east and across Scotland. In Northern Ireland, three properties in the Claremount Gardens area of Warrenpoint were flooded as a result of torrential rainfall and flash flooding, which affected the local wastewater pumping station. Weather Scotland Flooding guardian.co.uk

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