'We were having dinner and a tree crashed into our house'

A family have told of the "petrifying" moment a tree smashed through the windows of their house in the Highlands during Storm Amy.

Candice McMillan from Torlundy, near Fort William, was having dinner with her husband and sons on Friday when 70mph gusts brought the tree crashing down onto her home.

She said it was "miraculous" that nobody was injured in the incident, which came during an Amber weather alert in north of Scotland.

Storm Amy brought widespread damage to roads, rail lines and buildings across the country and left 75,000 homes without power.

Ms McMillan told BBC Scotland News: "We were all sitting around the table and you could see the trees outside were blowing really badly.

"We all looked at each other and said, do you think those trees are going to fall over.

"Then literally the windows just blew in around us."

The family covered up the broken windows with bin bags to keep the wind and rain out during the height of the storm.

Ms McMillan said the incident was "surreal" and is grateful that her sons, aged 17 and 21, avoided injury.

"It's actually quite miraculous with the windows being right there that not one of us was hurt," she added.

She said they would not know the full damage caused to the house and cars parked outside until the winds subside.

The amber warning remains in place until 21:00 in the north of Scotland and across the rest of the country until midnight.

Meanwhile, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it was working to reconnect properties without power - with 33,000 reached by Saturday afternoon.

The areas worst hit include the Highlands and islands, Aberdeen and Stirlingshire. Some families have been warned it could be days before they are reconnected.

In the village of Croftamie in Stirlingshire, Tricia Scott said Storm Amy "was the worst" to have hit the area for years.

She told BBC Scotland News: "The weather was wild. We are used to some of that here, but usually we might only lose power for a few hours.

"We don't know how long this is going to be. We're rallying round and checking on neighbours."

The Scottish Stove Centre in the village was also without power, but doing good business.

Owner Max McDade said: "We've had lots of people in stocking up on firewood, so keeping warm isn't an issue.

"Most people here and in other villages use a stove so, at least we have that to see us through."

SSEN's Nik Wheeler said the firm would need to wait until winds subside later on Saturday to get a "complete picture" of the storm's impact.

He said: "Every resource at our disposal is being directed at the reconnection operation, and our efforts to ensure people are kept well informed and looked after while these essential repairs are carried out.

"More than a dozen hot food vans are making their way to affected areas, a number are already serving meals, and details of locations are being shared on our website.

"Some local businesses are also opening to provide evening meals on our behalf."