An emergency alert has been sent to millions of people in Scotland ahead of a rare red weather warning. People with compatible mobile phones living in the 22 council areas of the country expected to be worst hit by the storm received the alert at approximately 18:00.

Storm Darragh in December was the last time a red weather warning was issued. Before this the last one was in January 2024 when winds battered the north east of Scotland.

Several weather warnings - ranging from yellow to red - have been issued across the country, with the worst conditions expected to hit Northern Ireland and Scotland