UK weather: Report of woman swept into River Don as widespread flooding hits Scotland
A woman has been reportedly swept into the River Don in Aberdeenshire as widespread flooding hit Scotland, police have said.
Police and emergency crews are on the scene where it is believed the person may have been trying to rescue a dog.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 3.05pm on Friday, 18 November, police were called to the River Don near to Monymusk following a report of concern for a woman in the water.
“Police and Emergency Services attended and searches were carried out. Following assessments of the river conditions, the search has been stood down for the evening. Police inquiries are ongoing.”
Scotland has been battered with rain and flooding, with rest centres opening in some parts of Aberdeenshire after flood warnings were escalated to severe on Friday.
The northeast of the country has been hammered by the bad weather with the local council warning residents to take steps to protect their properties.
Road maps of closures due to floods have been circulated and rest centres will open in Ballater, Aboyne, Inverurie and Kemnay for those needing help and who are unable to stay in their homes.
Aberdeenshire Council warned that river levels will peak later on Friday, with sandbag points set up in the region to protect from floodwaters.
Power cuts are also affecting Inverurie, Kintore, Stonehaven, Portlethen and Hatton of Fintray, with reports of broadband also being down.
There was also localised flooding in some parts of Edinburgh, with pictures showing the Crewe Toll roundabout in the west of the city completely submerged.
The Met Office has said more than a month’s worth of rain had fallen in Charr, Aberdeenshire overnight with the total recorded as 140mm.
Train journeys across much of eastern Scotland have also been disrupted.
Forecasters have issued an amber rain warning for an area of northeast Scotland stretching from just north of Dundee up past Aberdeen until 9pm on Friday.
Meanwhile a yellow rain warning is also in place along the Scottish east coast from the English border up to Peterhead until 6pm on Friday.
It comes after a band of rain hit the coast of southwest England on Wednesday evening before travelling northeast over two days, causing flooding in many areas of the UK.
As of Friday morning, the Environment Agency has 11 flood warnings and 81 flood alerts in place and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued 26 warnings and nine alerts.
South of the border in northeast England, hundreds of people were left stranded at Newcastle rail station due to the cancelled services heading north to Scotland.
Huge queues for replacement buses were seen and passengers had been told they may have to wait up to five hours to board.
Queues for the bus services stretched hundreds of metres down the street outside the city centre station and spiralled around the concourse inside.
Hundreds of rail passengers queue outside Newcastle train station for replacement buses
Queues stretched hundreds of metres down the street outside the station and spiralled around the concourse inside
One woman heading for Edinburgh said: “This just can’t be happening. I’ve got a health condition and I can’t wait outside like this.”
James Brownhill, from London, said: “It’s just chaos. But there’s nothing you can do. If it’s flooded, it’s flooded.
“I think I’m just going to have to stay in Newcastle tonight.”
Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon warned that areas of Scotland could see homes and businesses flooding even as the rain eases later on Friday, while gusts could blow in excess of 50 knots.
He said: “Rain should ease later in the day but because of the delayed reaction of rivers to rain, some flooding events could still happen.
“There will be persistent and widespread rain for most of Scotland today as well.”
Yesterday flooding was seen further south with motorists warned to stay off the roads in Leicestershire
He also said temperatures are expected to drop, going as low as -4C in Northern Ireland, adding: “Fairly widespread frost is possible for much of the UK.”
While Saturday will be clear, Sunday sees another front of rain and heavy wind moving in from the west bringing the chance of thunder and lightning, Mr Dixon said.
“That sets up what is really the theme of the next week which is continued wet and windy weather for much of the UK,” he added.
All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.
Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.
“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”
But passengers continue to feel the effects.
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.
And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.
Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.
Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.
“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”
Follow live: Latest updates as flights halted
Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
One passenger was on a plane when they found out.
They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.
“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”
Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.
“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”
It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.
“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.
“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”
There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.
It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.
Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”
The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.
An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.
A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.
Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.
It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.
Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.
North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.
“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.
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