Struggle to restore electricity supplies

Power lines have been brought down by snow

Thousands of people in the Borders and east of Scotland remain without electricity after a spell of severe weather.

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

The company said it is hopeful that the whole of the region will have electricity by the end of the week.

It has been estimated that more than 12,000 homes are still without power.

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

Superintendent Charlie Common of Lothian and Borders Police

Schools in the Borders remain closed and numerous roads are still affected.

Elsewhere in the country, some minor routes are closed and there is a risk of icy conditions on untreated roads.

Some of the damaged pylons that normally supply homes in the Scottish Borders are only accessible by helicopter, a Scottish Power spokeswoman said.

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

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

Drivers still face a difficult time

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.

"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 A1 south of Berwick is open, but fresh snowfalls are causing problems on the A1 in East Lothian.

Major disruption

The A68 remains closed north of Carfraemill and at Carter Bar.

West Coast Main Line rail services have fully re-opened both ways, but there is still delays on the East Coast line following the major crash at Selby on Wednesday.

Southbound GNER trains are terminating at York and northbound trains stop at Doncaster.

Dundee University experts got a fuller picture via satellite

The company said a supplementary road coach service has been laid on between Doncaster and York until the line reopens.

ScotRail sleeper services, including the Inverness to London sleeper will resume on Thursday evening and the suspension on bookings has been lifted.

Gordon McKinstry, of the Met Office in Scotland, said: "The bitterly cold weather will continue into the weekend in Scotland.

"A slow moving area of heavy snow showers has affected north Berwick, Edinburgh and East Lothian on Thursday morning, giving heavy falls in places and this area of showers will drift slowly westwards.

"There will be very severe showers again on Thursday evening and this time Argyll, Kintyre and Ayrshire may bare the brunt, with the possibility of some heavy snow showers in Glasgow on Friday afternoon."