Shops flooded as heavy downpours lash N-east Torrential rain brought flooding to a North-east town.

Torrential rain brought flooding to a North-east town.

Parts of Elgin saw water reach two feet high as showers lashed thearea.

Shops were waterlogged, streets had to be closed and sewagespilled from drains.

Witnesses described how some shops on the town's High Street wereswamped by the rain while the water reached the top of wheels of carsparked on the road.

A Met Office spokesman said an area of low pressure close by wasto blame.

He said: "A small but very intense downpour in the Strathspeyregion is likely to have caused the flash floods in Elgin.

"The rain was localised over Cairnuish and Pikey Hill which draininto the River Lossiemouth.

"The River Lossiemouth is small so heavy localised rain wouldlikely add to the cause of flooding in the town."

Parts of Station Road and Maisondieu Road in Elgin were closedyesterday to allow surface water caused by the flooding to subside.

Charanjit Sahota, who owns CSS Newsagent on the High Street, hadto close his shop for 20 minutes because of the weather.

"When the rain was at its heaviest, the drains became blocked andthe street started to flood," he said.

"The water began to come into the shop and every time a car drovepast it would wash water on to the pavement and inside."

A clothes shop and a pub on either side of Mr Sahota's shop werealso affected.

When the water finally subsided, one onlooker described how itleft raw sewage lying on the street.

As showers lashed the region, mudslip-striken Pennan survived itsfirst heavy rainfall since residents were forced out of the village.

Downpours began on Saturday and continued throughout the night.

But locals were relieved to find the slopes behind their homes hadstayed intact.

The Met Office spokesman added: "There were localised slow-movingclouds near to Pennan which would have caused heavy rain on Saturdayand Sunday."

The Local Hero village hit the headlines last week when all 34residents had to be evacuated due to a massive landslide. Mostresidents are now back in their homes, but 10 properties which borethe brunt of the landslides are still out of bounds.

cshanks@ajl.co.uk