Police warn against road travel on Saturday

Police are urging people not to travel on Scotland’s roads on Saturday as Storm Bert looks set to bring more heavy snowfall across the country.

A Met Office amber warning is already in place for parts of the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Angus.

It runs from 07:00 to 17:00 on Saturday, when there will be an increased likelihood of severe weather affecting travel and power supplies.

Police Scotland’s warning covers all roads north of the central belt.

Additionally, a number of yellow “be aware” warnings for snow, high winds and heavy rain have also been issued for Scotland over the weekend.

Supt Vinnie Fisher, deputy head of Road Policing, said: “All road users should consider if they really need to travel in adverse weather.

“Listen to media broadcasts for updates, follow Transport Scotland and the Met Office on social media and share information with others.”

Scottish government agency Transport Scotland said roads may be affected by deep snow, particularly over higher routes, and some rural communities might be cut off.

Interruptions to power supplies and telephone networks could also occur.

Douglas Cairns, Operations Support Manager at Traffic Scotland, told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme they are expecting “widespread disruption” across the the trunk road and motorway network, as well as some issues on public transport.

He said: “There are a number of weather warnings in play so regardless of where you are travelling to and from I think you are likely to see some disruptive weather in some way, shape or form.”

He added people who do wish to travel should think about if they can “retime, remodel or rethink” their journeys.

On Thursday, schools across the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire were closed due to poor road conditions.

ScotRail said there was also some rail disruption and urged people to check if their routes were affected throughout Friday and into the weekend.