An emergency alert has been sent to millions of people in Scotland ahead of a rare red weather warning. People with compatible mobile phones living in the 22 council areas of the country expected to be worst hit by the storm received the alert at approximately 18:00.

Red warnings have been issued for Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland on Friday, as the dangerous Storm Éowyn heads towards the UK. The rare warnings for wind mean flying debris could cause a danger to life, with gusts up to 100mph (161km/h) along some exposed coasts.