SEARCHES have resumed efforts to find a woman who was swept into a river as torrential rain battered parts of Scotland.

Officers from Police Scotland, alongside Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the coastguard, have resumed efforts to locate the missing woman.

They had been called to the River Don at Monymusk in Aberdeenshire on Friday afternoon after a report of someone in difficulty.

It is understood she had been attempting to rescue a dog when she got into difficulty.

The search had to be stood down on Friday night, but has now started again.

Inspector Rory Campbell from Police Scotland said: “Officers, along with colleagues from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Coastguard, have resumed searches in the area where the woman was last seen.”

He added: “Conditions are tricky and dangerous and I am appealing to members of the public to stay away from flooded areas.

“Please be careful when you are out and about.”

It came after heavy rain battered much of the east of Scotland on Friday with several severe flood warnings issued.

The wet weather caused major disruption to travel, with roads and rail services affected.

Flooding also resulted in the closure of some schools on Friday, with centres set up for those unable to stay in their homes.

Train services were still being impacted on Saturday, with operator ScotRail saying the “extreme rainfall” means it was “unlikely” trains in the worst affected areas would be restart before 12pm on Saturday.

After “yesterday’s extreme rainfall, services on the Fife Circle & between Aberdeen & Dundee are unlikely to start before noon today”, ScotRail tweeted.

Staff from Network Rail need to assess conditions on the rails in daylight, it added.

There was also localised flooding in some parts of Edinburgh, with pictures showing the Crewe Toll roundabout in the west of the city submerged.

On Friday evening, justice secretary and lead minister for resilience, Keith Brown, chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government’s resilience committee.

He said: “The Scottish Government’s resilience arrangements have been activated to ensure preparations and appropriate measures are in place, and we will continue to monitor the situation over the course of the weekend.

“We are in close contact with resilience partners, local authorities and the emergency services to ensure people in the affected areas receive the latest information, advice and support where needed.”