Thousands face third night without power

Most minor roads in the Scottish Borders are blocked

Thousands of Scottish homes are facing a third night without electricity as poor weather conditions delay the repair of power lines felled by high winds.

Power lines in remote communities affected by heavy snow are proving difficult to reach, according to Scottish Power.

Some of the damaged pylons that normally supply the 23,000 blacked-out homes in the Scottish Borders are only accessible by helicopter, a spokeswoman said.

"We are finding new damage as we get access to it," she added.

Most minor roads are still blocked and will not be open today

Superintendent Charlie Common of Lothian and Borders Police

Snow showers on Thursday will be restricted to coastal areas in the north and east but may drift inland as far as Edinburgh because of north-easterly winds, according to forecasters.

Road and rail links with England reopened as the snowfall eased and winds dropped allowing council vehicles to clear snowdrifts up to 12ft deep.

But drivers were warned to avoid non-essential journeys as overnight temperatures fell to 10C below freezing.

Superintendent Charlie Common of Lothian and Borders Police said on Thursday: "While the council has been able to clear a number of class-A and trunk roads, most minor roads are still blocked and will not be open today."

"We are concerned that because people can see that main roads in the towns are clear they will think they are able to complete journeys.

Heavy snow

"This is not necessarily the case and police are still heavily involved in trying to free vehicles that have become stuck in heavy snow."

The A7 in Dumfries and Galloway was the last major route to open after trees were cleared north of Langholm.

But the A723 between Lockerbie to Annan is restricted to single-lane traffic.

Train operators Virgin and GNER said they hoped to run services on the East and West Coast main lines on Thursday for the first time since Monday.

But GNER trains are terminating at York following Wednesday's crash at Selby, North Yorkshire.