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Flood-hit Scots are being warned of a fresh deluge with two days of “persistent and occasionally heavy rain” forecast to sweep the northeast of the country.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather alert from 12pm on Thursday through to midday on Saturday.

The warning covers many of the areas that were severely impacted by Storm Babet, which brought immense rain and devastating flooding to parts of the UK.

Parts of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee and Perthshire are expected to be worst hit.

The yellow weather warning is in place from 12pm on Thursday to 12pm on Saturday. Pic: Met Office
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The yellow weather warning is in place from 12pm on Thursday to 12pm on Saturday. Pic: Met Office

Brechin – which saw hundreds of residents evacuated during Storm Babet after the River South Esk burst its banks and flooded parts of the town – is to be pummelled by rain again.

Forecasters warned: “Persistent and occasionally heavy rain may lead to some flooding and transport disruption in places.”

Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and road closures, with the Met Office also warning of possible delays and cancellations to train and bus services.

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The Met Office added: “There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings.”

Members of the emergency services help local residents to safety in Brechin, Scotland, as Storm Babet batters the country
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Brechin residents being evacuated during Storm Babet

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said it will be monitoring the situation and will issue localised flood warnings as required.

David Scott, SEPA’s flood duty manager, said: “Following last week’s severe weather event, people in communities in the northeast are still recovering from extensive river and surface water flooding impacts, and with more rain forecast for the coming days we understand that people may be concerned.

“The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain starting on Thursday, but we are not looking at totals anywhere near what was experienced during Storm Babet and river levels are not forecast to be as high.

“Forecasts show accumulations over the three days will widely be around 20mm to 30mm, with 50mm to 70mm likely to fall over higher ground. There is a lower probability of 80mm to 100mm in a few locations.

“For context, during the weekend of Storm Babet, the northeast experienced 200mm to 250mm of rainfall in 48 hours.”

Although widespread significant flooding is not expected, further rain could affect areas where floodwaters remain.

Read more:
Why Storm Babet brought so much rain

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Storm Babet has left hundreds of properties submerged

Seven people across the UK are believed to have died as a result of Storm Babet.

Wendy Taylor, 57, was swept away in the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, on Thursday.

Wendy Taylor. Pic: Police Scotland
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Wendy Taylor. Pic: Police Scotland

John Gillan, 56, from Arbroath, also died on Thursday after a tree struck his van on the B9127 at Whigstreet, south of Forfar in Angus.

Peter Pelling, 61, died after his car became trapped in floodwater near Marykirk in Aberdeenshire on Friday. His body was recovered on Monday.

Mother and daughter Cheryl Woods, 61, and Sarha Smith, 40, of Caerphilly, South Wales, died in a five-vehicle crash on the M4 on Friday morning, which is believed to have been weather-related.

Cheryl Woods and Sarha Smith of Caerphilly.
Pic:Wiltshire Police
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Cheryl Woods and Sarha Smith. Pic: Wiltshire Police

A man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwater in the town of Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, on Friday.

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‘I didn’t want to find my own mum’

Maureen Gilbert, 83, also died after her home in Chesterfield flooded.

Her son told Sky News how he found her body floating in the water at the property on Saturday.

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Lucy Letby’s father ‘threatened guns to my head’ during meeting, hospital boss tells inquiry

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Lucy Letby's father 'threatened guns to my head' during meeting, hospital boss tells inquiry

Lucy Letby’s father threatened a hospital boss while the trust was examining claims that the neonatal nurse was attacking babies in her care, an inquiry has heard.

Tony Chambers, the former chief executive of the Countess of Chester Hospital, described how Mr Letby became very upset during a meeting about the allegations surrounding his daughter in December 2016.

Mr Chambers led the NHS trust where neonatal nurse Letby, who fatally attacked babies between June 2015 and June 2016, worked.

It was the following year in 2017 that the NHS trust alerted the police about the suspicions Letby had been deliberately harming babies on the unit.

“Her father was very angry, he was making threats that would have just made an already difficult situation even worse,” Mr Chambers told the Thirlwall Inquiry.

“He was threatening guns to my head and all sorts of things.”

Earlier, Mr Chambers apologised to the families of the victims of Letby, but said the failure to “identify what was happening” sooner was “not a personal” one.

He was questioned on how he and colleagues responded when senior doctors raised concerns about Letby, 34, who has been sentenced to 15 whole-life terms for seven murders and seven attempted murders.

Mr Chambers started his evidence by saying: “I just want to offer my heartfelt condolences to all of the families whose babies are at the heart of this inquiry.

“I can’t imagine the impact it has had on their lives.

“I am truly sorry for the pain that may have been prolonged by any decisions that I took in good faith.”

He was then pressed on how much personal responsibility he should take for failings at the trust that permitted Letby to carry on working after suspicions had been raised with him.

“I wholeheartedly accept that the operation of the Trust’s systems failed and there were opportunities missed to take earlier steps to identify what was happening,” he said.

“It was not a personal failing,” he added.

“I have reflected long and hard as to why the board was not aware of the unexplained increase in mortality.”

Read more:
Lucy Letby likely murdered or attacked more children, doctor tells inquiry
Lucy Letby: Nursing boss tells inquiry she had ‘best intentions’

Mr Chambers also said he believed the hospital should have worked more closely with the families involved, saying “on reflection the communications with the families could have and should have been better”.

The Thirlwall Inquiry is examining events at the Countess of Chester Hospital, following the multiple convictions of Letby.

Earlier this week her former boss, Alison Kelly, told the inquiry she “didn’t get everything right” but had the “best intentions” in dealing with concerns about the baby killer.

Ms Kelly was director of nursing, as well as lead for children’s safeguarding, at Countess of Chester Hospital when Letby attacked the babies.

She was in charge when Letby was moved to admin duties in July 2016 after consultants said they were worried she might be harming babies.

However, police were not called until May 2017 – following hospital bosses commissioning several reviews into the increased mortality rate.

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Man and woman charged after injured baby boy taken to hospital in critical condition

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Man and woman charged after injured baby boy taken to hospital in critical condition

Police have charged a man and a woman with serious assault after an injured and unresponsive baby boy was taken to hospital.

Merseyside Police say the baby was found at a house in Seacombe, Wirral, on Sunday.

Officers were called to reports of concern for a child at a property on Percy Road at around midday, the force said.

The boy was taken to hospital, where injuries were found on his body.

His condition was described as “critical”.

Klevi Pirjani, 36, and Nivalda Santos Pirjani, 33, both of Seacombe, have been charged with causing grievous bodily harm and wounding with intent.

They were remanded into custody to appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

They were then further remanded to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 23 December.

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£50,000 reward offered in hunt for rare early Scottish coins stolen in 2007

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£50,000 reward offered in hunt for rare early Scottish coins stolen in 2007

A £50,000 reward is being offered over the unsolved theft of a batch of early Scottish coins that were stolen 17 years ago.

More than 1,000 coins from the 12th and 13th centuries were taken from the home of Lord and Lady Stewartby in Broughton, near Peebles in the Scottish Borders, in June 2007.

The stolen haul spans a period of almost 150 years, from around 1136 when the first Scottish coins were minted during the reign of David I up to around 1280 and the reign of Alexander III.

The late Lord Stewartby entrusted the remainder of his collection to The Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow in 2017, but the missing coins have never been found.

A £50,000 reward is being offered over the unsolved theft of a batch of early Scottish coins that were stolen 17 years ago. Pic: Crimestoppers
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Pic: Crimestoppers Scotland

A £50,000 reward is being offered over the unsolved theft of a batch of early Scottish coins that were stolen 17 years ago. Pic: Crimestoppers
Image:
Pic: Crimestoppers Scotland

Crimestoppers announced its maximum reward of £20,000 – which is available for three months until 27 February – in a fresh appeal on Wednesday. An anonymous donor is helping to boost the total reward amount to £50,000.

It is hoped it will prompt people to come forward with information which could lead to the recovery of the missing treasures and the conviction of those responsible for the crime.

A £50,000 reward is being offered over the unsolved theft of a batch of early Scottish coins that were stolen 17 years ago. Pic: Crimestoppers
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Pic: Crimestoppers Scotland

A £50,000 reward is being offered over the unsolved theft of a batch of early Scottish coins that were stolen 17 years ago. Pic: Crimestoppers
Image:
Pic: Crimestoppers Scotland

Angela Parker, national manager at Crimestoppers Scotland, said Lord Stewartby’s haul was the “best collection of Scottish coins ever assembled by a private individual”.

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Jesper Ericsson, curator of numismatics at The Hunterian, described the medieval coins as smaller than a modern penny.

He added: “Portraits of kings and inscriptions may be worn down to almost nothing and the coins might be oddly shaped, perhaps even cut in half or quarters.

“You could fit 1,000 into a plastic takeaway container, so they don’t take up a lot of space. They may look unremarkable, but these coins are the earliest symbols of Scotland’s monetary independence.

“They are of truly significant national importance. Their safe return will not only benefit generations of scholars, researchers, students and visitors to come, but will also right a wrong that Lord Stewartby never got to see resolved before he died.”

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A £50,000 reward is being offered over the unsolved theft of a batch of early Scottish coins that were stolen 17 years ago. Pic: Crimestoppers
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Angela Parker, national manager at Crimestoppers Scotland, and Jesper Ericsson, curator of numismatics at The Hunterian. Pic: Crimestoppers Scotland

Mr Ericsson pleaded with whoever has the coins to “return them to where they belong”.

He added: “Give Scotland back its coins.”

Lady Stewartby said her husband, who was a renowned numismatist, was just five-years-old when he was given his first Scottish coin.

She added: “Over the next 50 years, he put together a collection which included some of the earliest Scottish coins.

“Lord Stewartby told me and our children that they represented Scotland’s history at a time when few people had access to books or pictures.”

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