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Festive travel plans were plunged into chaos for tens of thousands on Wednesday, as Storm Gerrit brought flooding and huge disruption to rail services and left drivers trapped for hours in their cars on snow-covered roads.

A rescue operation was launched to help motorists stranded in freezing conditions on the A9 near Inverness.

Elsewhere, wind gusts of up to 87mph pulled huge trees from their roots onto roads, rail lines and at least one home, with boats used to rescue residents stranded in houses that were flooded.

Outages cut power to 8,600 homes at lunchtime, the Energy Networks Association told The Independent.

While power had been restored to 8,500 of the 27,000 properties across Scotland which suffered power cuts, according to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, the company warned that some of the 18,500 properties still cut off at 4.30pm could face two days without power.

And thousands saw their travel plans cast into disarray, as the storm knocked out ferry services and major rail and road arteries, with huge crowds left stranded at London King’s Cross after the East Coast main line to Edinburgh was flooded, blocking travel beyond Newcastle.

The western rail artery into Scotland was also blocked by flooding – hitting services between Edinburgh and Birmingham, and Glasgow and Manchester Airport. Avanti West Coast told all passengers not to travel north of Preston.

Those with pre-booked tickets for travel between Preston and either Edinburgh or Glasgow can board trains on Thursday or Friday, the operator said; while LNER passengers stranded by the disruption on the east coast line were told to book hotels and claim back the cost.

At 4pm, with cross-border rail travel already halted, ScotRail announced it was suspending all services north of Perth and Dundee, with trains already on the move ordered to return to stations – suspending rail travel across most of the country.

Images shared on social media earlier on Wednesday showed a tree on a train in Dumbarton, while a train driver was injured when a tree smashed through his cab at Broughty Ferry, near Dundee.

Further south, the main line between St Pancras and Luton was closed due to a signalling fault, with all East Midlands Railway trains cancelled.

Air travel was also hit, with at least 18 British Airways flights cancelled at London Heathrow due to the storm, to both domestic and European destinations.

By 3.30pm, nearly 80mm of rainfall had already fallen in the Cumbrian valley of Mickleden, Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told The Independent, while strong gale-force gusts of 86mph were recorded on Scotland’s northeast coast, and of 83mph in north Wales.

The forecaster said at least 5cm to 10cm of snow appeared to have fallen in the Highlands, where hundreds of unlucky motorists were trapped for hours in their cars on a remote stretch of the A9 at Drumochter.

A major incident was declared to help “miles of vehicles stuck in the snow between Drumochter and Dalwhinnie”, Highland Council said.

“Drivers are asked to remain in their vehicles meantime, keep warm, and tune in to local radio or social media where further updates will be provided as soon as possible,” Police Scotland said.

The trunk road was closed further south at Ballinluig due to flooding, with a host of other roads across the country blocked by flooding, and downed trees and power lines.

In central Aberdeen, large trees uprooted onto a main street had to be cut up with chainsaws and removed, while a tree was pictured having landed on a house in Inverlochy, near Fort William.

Further south, in the Fife town of Cupar, residents were filmed being escorted from flooded homes by emergency service workers, with dogs also seen being carried across deep floodwaters.

“Planning to drive to Edinburgh but am stranded in Cupar,” wrote James Matheson, who took the footage. “Both roads from my parents’ are flooded at the river. Some houses flooded. Grim.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 11.36am on Wednesday, 27 December to reports of flooding in Cupar. Throughout the day, crews have rescued a number of residents who became trapped due to rising floodwaters, via boat or other means.”

While residents in 25 locations across Scotland, England and Wales were told to expect flooding on Wednesday, lesser flood alerts were also issued in a further 186 areas.

In the frequently flood-hit Shropshire village of Ironbridge, flood barriers were erected as the River Severn rose ominously, but the town remained unscathed on Wednesday evening.

The high winds also disrupted ferry travel to the Hebrides and Orkney and Shetland Isles, where 15 flights were also cancelled from Kirkwall and Sumburgh airports.

And on the south coast, ferry operator Red Funnel – which provides services between Southampton and Cowes on the Isle of Wight – cancelled its Red Jet passenger services due to strong winds.

Hovercraft services between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight were also suspended.

Storm Gerrit comes less than a week after Storm Pia lashed parts of the UK in the countdown to the festive season, when winds of 80mph battered parts of the country and brought travel misery for thousands attempting to return home for Christmas.

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