200 customers still without power after high winds

Around 200 customers remain without power after strong winds caused disruption on Monday.

Gusts of 65mph to 75mph hit the far north and north-east of the country on January 7, causing power cuts and disruption for travellers.

A Met Office yellow “be aware” warning for wind in northern Scotland, the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland expired on Tuesday morning.

On Monday evening, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said around 3,000 households had experienced power cuts in Orkney and the north-east of Scotland, in areas such as Elgin and Huntly.

Damage to overhead lines and falling trees were said to be behind the problem.

SSEN said that around 200 customers, including about 80 in Orkney, were without power on Tuesday morning.

The company said engineers were working to restore supplies and it is hoped their power will be back on by 2pm.

An SSEN spokesman said: “We would like to assure customers that we are doing everything we can to get the power back on and we apologise for any inconvenience.”

On Monday the Dornoch Bridge was closed to high-sided vehicles, and there were restrictions on other bridges such as the Tay Road Bridge and Kessock Bridge.

Some ferry sailings and rail services were cancelled due to the bad weather.

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