Scores of people have been evacuated from their homes as severe flooding continues to affect the north and north-east of Scotland.

Severe flooding on the River Lossie in Elgin, Moray, has led to lifeboat crews being called out to rescue people trapped in their homes.

Police said that more than 100 people had been taken to a reception centre set up at Elgin High School and others had gone to stay with family and friends.

A spokesman for the RNLI said 22 lifeboat crew were using five inflatable "Y-class" boats to help evacuate people from their homes.

Many residents were evacuated by boat

The police, fire brigade and RAF were also involved in the rescue operation as water levels rose to more than 5ft in some places.

Emergency reception areas have also been set up in nearby Rothes and Forres to provide shelter for people who have been forced to flee their flooded homes.

In Elgin, the Kingsmills and South West Murdie areas have been most severely affected,while in Forres, Fleurs Place has also been badly hit.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has issued three severe flood warnings for the River Lossie, the Mosset Burn and the River Spey, and nine further flood alerts in place across the region.

Chief Inspector Alan Smith of Grampian Police said the situation in Elgin was a "major problem".

Square One

He said that the floods had breached the river banks in a number of locations in Elgin.

"The consequence is that we have got large areas of flooding affecting Elgin which has necessitated the evacuation of some residents," he said.

Chief Insp Smith said that a similar area of the town suffered flooding in 1997.

He said: "So clearly there will be people affected there who have been through this five years ago and any flooding to their homes must be catastrophic in terms of having to go back to square one.

Some roads have been closed

Chief Insp Smith said that many residents were out of their homes for months after the last floods in the town.

"The assessment at the moment is unfortunately that the position is worse than it was in 1997," he said.

Rail services between Aberdeen and Inverness remain disrupted due to flooding on the line.

A Railtrack spokesman said special bus services had been laid on to take train passengers to their intended destinations.

A total of 10 roads in the north east were closed due to flooding, while a road bridge was completely swept away on the B9015 between Rothes and Mosstodloch.

The flood line number is 08459 881188