Trees down and lorries overturned as Storm Éowyn batters the Borders

The owners of a house in Galashiels have had a lucky escape after strong winds brought a tree down just inches from their front door, as Storm Éowyn begins to batter the Borders.

Chainsaw teams have been working to clear the debris after the towering trunk crashed through a hedge and partially blocked the neighbouring A7.

The incident unfolded opposite the town's fire station in Abbotsford Road shortly after 8am this morning (Friday).

Scottish Borders Council has a multi-agency group on standby to respond to any incidents.

But all rail and bus services have been suspended today as people are advised against all but essential travel.

A red weather warning covering large parts of our region - from Peebles to Lauder - comes into force from 10am to 5pm - with gusts of up to 100mph forecast. A wider Amber wind alert, which extends to North Northumberland, is already in force.

However, the threat of snow has been lifted.

The worry is forecasted winds of up to 100mph could make driving here dangerous.

Schools and colleges have closed for the day amid concerns for the safety of staff and students, along with local gyms and swimming pools.

Bin collections have also been cancelled.

In-person GP appointments in the Borders are being converted to telephone consultations today, as health chiefs try to limit unnecessary travel.

It follows on from the announcement last night that all non-urgent hospital appointments have also been cancelled due to the extreme weather.

But some businesses have pledged to stay open.

Some supermarket shelves have been cleared as shoppers stock up before the full force of the storm hits.

John Taylor, who runs a butcher's shop in Galashiels, told Greatest Hits Radio: "I've opened today for our customers as, you see now, we've had five customers and we've been only been open ten minutes.

"We're here if they want us and, if they don't, we'll crack on with the other things, because we've got a lot of cooking to do."

When asked if there was ever any doubt about opening, he added: "In 20 years I've never closed because of bad weather. (During the snow storms of) Beast from the East we opened and customers still came out. Roads were shut and supermarkets closed - couldn't get bread or milk - but butcher's shops were open and we were really busy."

Already a number of roads have been blocked this morning due to fallen trees and overturned vehicles including the A1 in East Lothian, A7 at Langholm and A702 near Biggar.

A photograph has also emerged of a trampoline on top of a car at Burnfoot in Hawick.

And the A68 was closed due to an earlier accident at the Carter Bar.

A number of communities are also reporting power cuts.

Scottish Borders Council chief executive David Robertson warns the impact of the storm could be felt for days.

"With strong winds expected on Saturday, it's likely that any clear-up efforts will extend right through the weekend, particularly in relation to clearing fallen trees from roads," he told us.

"We're not going to put staff in any danger to clear trees when there's a risk of others coming down, and therefore road closures could be in place for some time."

Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team has been put on standby to respond to any emergencies.

Local resilience groups are also monitoring the situation.

READ MORE: Wind speeds of 91mph recorded in the Scottish Borders, as Storm Éowyn wreaks havoc

Kevin Marsh is the co-ordinator of Hawick resilience group. He said: "The storm we're experiencing now is one of the worst to hit Scotland in, I believe, over 12 years. The wind speeds and impacts are likely to be worse than Storm Arwen, so this is really quite a dangerous situation."

He added: "There is widespread reports of trees down and damage throughout the town and we'd encourage anybody, if they don't need to travel or be out, not to do so. We do it because we're obviously very passionate about the town and want to keep people safe."

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