The sea crashes into the coast at Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, as Scotland remained in the grip of a flood alert.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning over heavy rain and gale force winds lasting until 6am today, with gusts of over 50mph expected on exposed coasts in eastern Scotland. The wind should ease later today but forecasters warned to "be aware" of the risk of localised flooding and travel disruption. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had seven flood alerts covering much of the country which were valid until around 4pm today.

Picture: Ross Gilmore