Snow and high winds brought down power lines leaving thousands of households without elctricity, while roads were closed and a train was derailed travelling to the Scottish town of Wick, when it became embedded in snowdrifts in a remote area. Rescue workers were early Wednesday struggling to reach passengers trapped in a snowbound train as winter storms hit the North of the UK.

A spokesman for train operator ScotRail said police were leading the operation to rescue the 15 passengers. "They have blankets with them and are treating it as an evacuation," he said. High winds and heavy snowfall closed several main roads in Scotland, particularly in the north and east of the country, said police. Another train was derailed on Tuesday morning after it hit a tree blown down onto the line by the heavy winds.

The Tayside region in eastern Scotland was worst hit by the weather, with 40 lorries stuck in the snow. Police urged drivers only to undertake essential journeys. A passenger ferry carrying 100 people between Lerwick, on the Shetland Isles, and the northeast oil town of Aberdeen, was unable to dock because of the stormy weather, prolonging its usual 12-hour journey to 40 hours. The boat was finally able to dock on its third attempt at Invergordon, a small port north of Inverness. The weather also forced the closure of many schools in Aberdeenshire in the northeast and in the Shetland islands.