Scotland is bearing the brunt of Storm Babet – with flood defences in the town of Brechin breached.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland also face warnings about heavy rain.

The Couple sculpture by Sean Henry at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on the Northumberland coast was battered by waves on Friday morning
The Couple sculpture by Sean Henry at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on the Northumberland coast was battered by waves on Friday morning (Owen Humphreys/PA)
A person looks from a window at flood water in Brechin, Scotland
Parts of Brechin are only accessible by boat, authorities said (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Angus Council, which serves Brechin – near the eastern Scottish coast, said: “Angus is in the middle of a very serious emergency. Flooding is unprecedented. Levels are over half a metre over the last highest ever.”

Waves crash near to the Freddie Gilroy sculpture by Ray Lonsdale in Scarborough
Waves crash near to the Freddie Gilroy sculpture by Ray Lonsdale in Scarborough (Danny Lawson/PA)

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “I cannot stress how dangerous conditions are in Brechin in particular.”

And Brechin councillor Jill Scott said: “It’s horrific. It’s just absolutely horrendous. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

She said people had been trapped for hours, adding: “There will be hundreds of houses flooded.”

Flood water in Brechin, Scotland
Angus Council said rescue crews are dealing with around 100 calls in areas of Brechin which had been asked to evacuate (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Angus councillor Gavin Nicol said the flooding in Brechin is far worse than previous times.

He said: “The water is sitting at windowsill-height currently – with floods in the past we’ve just been ankle-deep in water, if that.”

Members of a coastguard rescue team in Brechin, Scotland
Fire crews and the Coastguard began evacuating residents on Thursday night – knocking on residents’ doors advising them to leave (Andrew Milligan/PA)

On Thursday afternoon, a woman died after being swept into a river in Angus amid the evacuation of 400 homes in the Scottish region.

Police Scotland said the body of the 57-year-old woman was recovered from Water of Lee at Glen Esk, where a rare red weather alert is in place until noon on Friday.

People look out of a window at flood water in Brechin, Scotland
People look out of a window at flood water in Brechin (Andrew Milligan/PA)
A woman walks through flood water in Brechin, Scotland
The region was battered by heavy rain and 20,000 properties were hit by power cuts (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Gusts in excess of 60mph are likely on Friday, with particularly poor conditions on immediate coastlines with large waves adding to the list of hazards.

The rare Met Office red weather warning began at 6pm on Thursday and has been expanded to include Dundee, Perth and Kinross, as well as Angus and Aberdeenshire, where 20ft waves were seen crashing in Stonehaven harbour.

Tape marks a property in Brechin, Scotland
The Environment Agency said homes could be flooded in 45 areas of England and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency said there is a ‘danger to life’ due to widespread flooding in five areas of Scotland (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Amber warnings for wind and rain have been issued for parts of northern England, the Midlands and northern Wales from noon on Friday to 6am on Saturday.

Sea foam whipped up by high winds in Seaburn, Sunderland
Sea foam whipped up by high winds in Seaburn, Sunderland (Owen Humphreys/PA)

A yellow warning for Northern Ireland is also in place from 3am on Friday to 9am on Saturday.

A van drives through sea foam in Seaburn, Sunderland
Seaburn’s seafront was covered in foam during the strong winds (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Autumn weather October 20th 2023
Waves crash against South Shields lighthouse after the top was ripped off as Storm Babet batters the country (Owen Humphreys/PA)