A Paisley nursery has been left counting the cost of Storm Eowyn after winds tore the roof from the property and demolished an outdoor area.
Little Learners on Abercorn Street fell victim to winds of up to 80mph as the storm ripped though Renfrewshire today.
Video footage of the site showed parts of the roof hanging off, while large swathes of material was found strewn across the road in front of the premises earlier this afternoon.
A fence and outdoor play area also look to have been wiped out by the wind. It is among a host of properties to be damaged across the local authority area.
Residents of the high-rise flats in Glenburn watched in horror as exterior rendering flew off the side of the building, while other home owners on Inchinnan Road reported windows to have caved in under the pressure of the gales.
Another Paisley family was left shaken when a tree fell onto the family car – parked just yards from the front door.
It was one of dozens of trees reported to have fallen like dominos. Several fell in Foxbar, Linwood, Ferguslie and Glenburn. The wind also tore down overhead wires, plunging hundreds of Renfrewshire households into darkness.
Those in the PA3 postcode area reported power outages by early morning, while households in Bridge of Weir and Houston soon followed. The Renfrewshire homes are among 100,000 across the country that are currently without power.
But Scottish Power warned it could be 10pm before its engineers could safely restore services. A spokesperson for the utilities company said: “There is an unexpected power cut affecting the PA3 postcode area of Paisley.
“Our engineers are on site to find and fix the fault. In most cases, our engineers can get your power back on by simply replacing a fuse at the local substation, however, if the fault is complex, this may take us longer to fix. Should this happen, we will keep you updated.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”
Power cuts were widely expected across Renfrewshire today as the Met Office issued a rare red weather warning.
Winds of up to 86mph have been recorded across the central belt as Buddies remain indoors while schools, business and leisure attractions all remain closed.
Transport operators have meanwhile confirmed their services will take time to recover from the storm. ScotRail said reports of fallen trees and debris at several locations along its network means trains will be suspended until at least midday tomorrow.
A spokesperson said: “Our colleagues at Network Rail Scotland will be working flat out through the night to remove fallen trees and other debris from the tracks.
“There has also been extensive damage to overhead lines which will need to be repaired before trains can safely return to service. Unfortunately, this means that ScotRail services will be heavily impacted tomorrow (Saturday), and customers should not expect any trains to operate before 12noon at the earliest.”
McGill’s Buses has also halted its services today, while flights scheduled to take off from Glasgow Airport have been thrown into chaos. The Erskine Bridge is also closed to traffic.
A yellow weather warning remains in place for tomorrow across for Renfrewshire for strong winds as well as snow and ice. Winds could peak at 45mph while hail, ice and snow are predicted in the first half of the day.
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