TORRENTIAL downpours shut roads, railways and even restaurants yesterday as flooding struck in several parts of Scotland, with forecasters issuing a yellow alert warning that heavy rain will continue today.

East Lothian was among the worst areas hit as thunder and lightning gave way to an unseasonal deluge across the southern half of Scotland.

ScotRail was forced to abandon train services between Edinburgh and North Berwick after the line was flooded, with passengers transferred on to buses at Waverley Station.

Drivers also faced diversions as the Winton to Pencaitland B6355 and Tranent to Ormiston B6371 roads were flooded and shut. Surface water on roads in Musselburgh, Tranent and Prestonpans caused chaotic driving conditions while Lothian Buses had to be rerouted away from the worst-affected areas.

Meanwhile, dozens of homes and businesses in Musselburgh supplied by ScottishPower were left without electricity for several hours after a lightning strike caused a power outage.

Pupils at Loretto Junior School were sent home early due to a power cut.

In Ingliston, visitors to the Royal Highland Show who had parked their cars in a field had to have the vehicles pulled from the mud with tow trucks after flash floods turned the ground into a quagmire in a matter of hours.

In Glasgow, flood waters left many roads deluged, including Airlie Street in the west end of the city.

Further north, unlucky restaurant owners watched as overflowing drains flooded the premises with rainwater for the second time in a year.

Cath Rennie's in the village of Wellbank, between Dundee and Forfar, was flooded during a heavy downpour overnight from Thursday into Friday morning.

Firefighters spent four hours pumping thousands of litres of water out of the restaurant, which was also flooded last August.

The owners of the restaurant have blamed the area's drainage system for the repeated floods and claim it needs to be renovated.

The grim weather, which comes at the start of the school holidays for many local authorities, looks likely to continue across the southern half of Scotland today with the Met Office issuing a yellow alert warning for heavy rain and winds of up to 50mph lasting at least through the early hours.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency issued flood warnings – its second highest alert – as the water levels reached risk status at the River Don in Kintore in Aberdeenshire and the Eddleston Water in Peebles in the Borders. Residents in Peebles were urged to safeguard their properties by stocking up on sandbags from a local fire station, with the Crossburn Caravan Park among the spots most at risk of flooding.

However, Scotland appears to miss out on the worst of the downpours set to hit England and Wales as forecasters predicted that a month's worth of rain was due to fall in just 24 hours. The deluge is expected to batter the north west of England with heavy rain and winds lasting until Sunday.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for parts of Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire, with 50mm-60mm of rain expected to fall across much of the area.

The news comes as hundreds of music fans were forced to sleep in their cars in traffic which became gridlocked as rain turned the Isle of Wight Festival into a mudbath.