T in the park heading for a wash-out

By Cara Sulieman

REVELLERS were put on MUD-alert last night as weather forecaster predicted torrential rain for Scotland’s biggest music festival.

But there was no dampening of excitement yesterday as the first wave of 80,000 ticket holders kicked off this year’s event at Balado near Kinross.

Headliners included Muse, Faithless and the Black Eyed Peas, with hip hop legend Eminem due to play on the Main stage.

Kwaja Mahuh, 32, from Glasgow, had dressed to impress with his homemade Tennent’s hat and said he’d enjoy himself whatever the weather.

At his third T in the Park, Kwaja was still as excited as he was the first time.

Hundreds of vehicles trapped after power cables fall on A9

By Rory Reynolds

RAF rescue helicopters were on high alert last night ready to help hundreds of motorists caught in plunging temperatures after they became stuck in heavy snow for more than 10 hours.

The alert was sparked after traffic on the main A9 road in Perthshire came to a standstill at 7.30am when power lines came down on the busy route blocking it off to around 400 vehicles.

Blizzard conditions also meant cars and lorries became stuck and were left unable to move back down the single road.

Police enlisted volunteers in 4x4s provide food and drinks, many of which had been stuck in their cars for at least 10 hours.

Commuters and families were still trapped on the road in sub-zero conditions as 12 snow ploughs tried to open up a route.

Paramedics race to three crashes every hour as weather turns

By Rory Reynolds

SCOTLAND’S wintry weather conditions saw mercy crews called to at least three road accidents an hour during peak periods yesterday.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said it had been bombarded with calls from morning to night as snow and gales closed in.

The Edinburgh, the Borders and Fife were worst hit, where paramedics raced to 19 accidents during the morning rush alone.

Later elsewhere, a fuel tanker jack-knifed on the A816 in Kilmelford south of Oban, leaving one man trapped.

The tanker collided with a land rover at around 2pm, with at least two people being taken to hospital in Oban.

Three week blanket of snow leaves ski industry booming

By Rory Reynolds

SKI centres are reporting a huge boost in business after the three-week blanket of snow left Scots heading for the slopes.

The white Christmas has fuelled interest in skiing, with bosses saying that the Winter Olympics could send Scotland ski crazy this year.

One centre in Glenshee, Aberdeenshire, said that it had had to hire EIGHT times its usual number of staff.

And they have nearly seen an entire season’s visitors in the last three weeks alone.

Another centre in Edinburgh reported double the number of usual visitors, with a one mile traffic jam of skiers waiting to hit the slopes.

Snow hits Scotland’s East coast

Snow in Edinburgh

By Shaun Milne and Cara Sulieman

SCOTLAND was in the grip of a white hell last night – with little hope of any respite going into Christmas.

Police pleaded with people to stay and home and not travel as the country was hit by yet more snow storms.

The Met Office was forced to issue at least two severe weather warnings as blizzard conditions hit parts of the country.

In some areas temperature plunged to as low as minus 16 degrees.

Ice and treacherous driving conditions was said to be affecting the entire road network as gritting contractors struggled to clear routes.

Grandmother found frozen on doorstep

The doorstep where Jeanette was found

By Rory Reynolds

A GRANDMOTHER was fighting for her life in hospital last night after becoming locked out of her home for seven hours in sub-zero temperatures.

Jeanette Wright was discovered “frozen in a ball” by a 17-year-old neighbour after spending the night out in the open as blizzards raged.

Neighbours said the 60-year-old pharmacy assistant from Gorebridge, Midlothian, is thought to have put the wrong key into her own lock by accident after returning from a Christmas party in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The temperature dropped so low that Jeanette’s heart stopped with paramedics battling to save her at the scene.

She was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary shortly after she was discovered at 9am.

Severe weather alerts as snow storms close in on UK

By Andrea McCallum

SCOTS travellers are being warned to beware of plunging temperatures and travel chaos as heavy snow hits this weekend – with forecasters issuing early weather warnings for much of the country.

The worst of the snowfall was expected to hit south-east Britain overnight, but sleet and ice were being predicted to cause misery in the north.

The Met Office also issued an early warning of “severe or extreme” weather to affect many parts of Scotland.

Today  (thurs) its website predicted risk of disruption across south-west Scotland, Lothian and Borders and Dumfries and Galloway by Sunday.

It warned heavy snow – between five and 10 centimetres – could also affect north and north west Scotland over the same period.

Bookies Ladbrokes have already cut odds of a white Christmas in Glasgow down to 2/1 and Aberdeen 11/8.

High winds close Edinburgh castle

By Cara Sulieman

EDINBURGH Castle had to close its doors for the first time in over a year because of high winds.

Staff at the popular tourist attraction took the precaution after recording wind speeds of up to 60mph at the high points of the building.

Initially it was hoped that the castle would be able to open late on Wednesday, but the weather didn’t improve and Historic Scotland decided to wait until today (Thurs) to allow tourists back in.

The esplanade was also shut, and staff were positioned at the entrance to explain the situation to visitors.

Floods hit Scotland

By Cara Sulieman and Rory Reynolds

TORRENTIAL rain and flooding across parts of Scotland were feared to have claimed the life of at least one man today (thurs) – with forecasters warning of more bad weather to come over the weekend.

At least 20 rivers were last night subject to flood watches as heavy rainfall led to considerable train disruption and several key roads – including the A1 between Scotland and England – being closed to traffic.

In West Lothian police and RAF search and rescue teams spent several hours searching the swollen River Almond near Livingston after reports of a man falling into the fast-flowing waters.

A distraught member of the public called Lothian and Borders Police at 9am to say that they had seen the man fall into the river from a footbridge in the Kirkton area of the town.

Heavy rain threatens T in the Park

By Cara Sulieman and Michael MacLeod

REVELLERS heading for this year’s T in the Park were put on flood alert last night after heavy rainfall swamped the area.

The Met Office said it expects “torrential downpours” right up until the weekend sparking fears of a washout.

Dozens of flood emergencies were reported yesterday with Tayside Fire and Rescue Service receiving its first calls from worried residents at about 9.30am before pumping out water from various locations.

Most of the calls came from the Kinross and Milnathort areas – both within a few miles of the festival site in Balado.