31/12/2013 Reporting Scotland

on the BBC News Channel. I'm back with the News at Ten. Now it's

Good evening. Householders in the South West and Ayrshire are counting

the cost of flooding caused by yesterday's heavy rain. Families who

were evacuated from their homes have been returning to assess the damage.

Catriona Renton has been to Dumfries and Galloway. The flooding was so

bad on Sam's farm yesterday that he and his four young children had to

be air-lifted out as the fire service couldn't reach them. Today

he is counting the cost. It is bad enough that it has knocked around

100 metres offence down. - offence down. At its height the water is six

foot high. How far has it gone down? Maybe four and a half or five foot.

I have lost three sheep. Two were in lamb ewes. But they seem to be

calming down now in the shed. Probably happier to get out of the

weather than anything. Yesterday we showed you flooding in one village.

This was the River Nith. But what a difference a day make, the waters

have dropped, but there is heavy rain forecast here over the next few

days and locals say they're take nothing chances and making sure

they're prepared for the worst. Yesterday, the water had come right

up over the wall at this house. This was all covered in water. What

happened? The water came right up to the wall and it knocked it over. 30

houses were evacuated yesterday. The whole ground floor of William's

house was flooded. You have just got to get on with it. You have just got

to tidy up as you go along. Tonight most people are back in their homes

and the village Hogmanay partive is on tonight. But what a start to the

year for those dealing with the fallout. A 32-year-old man has

appeared in court charged with murdering his wife and young son in

Midlothian. Garry Lockhart is accused of killing 29-year-old Janet

Lockhart, along with her two-year-old son, Michael. Their

bodies were found at a house in Bonnyrigg on Saturday evening.

Lockhart made no plea or declaration when he appeared at Edinburgh

Sheriff court and was remanded in custody. The New Year is just over

five hours away and the countdown is on for Scotland's biggest street

party. Around 80,000 people are expected to crowd into Edinburgh's

Princes Street and our reporter Rob Flett is there tonight. That's

right, at 11. 20 The Pet Shop Boys will be taking the stage. The events

are sold out. But there are still some street party tickets left, if

you can get here before the gates shut at 9. The weather is drizzly,

but mostly it is due to be calm and clear. So wrap up warm and get here

early. Are there fireworks in store for the crowd? Yes, there are five

firework displays before the bells at midnight. The first is due in

just over an hour. That is to mark the start of Scotland's home-coming.

It is the same display as we saw at the end of the display last night.

If you live in Stirling and Inverness, you will also be able to

see that display and in Stonehaven, that display will go off after

midnight. But wherever you are tonight, have a great evening. Thank

you. An expert on cereals and brewing is heading a list of Scots

being recognised in the New Year Honours. Professor Geoffrey Palmer

has been knighted for services to science, human rights and charity.

Also recognised is one of the country's best known chefs and food

writers, as Kevin Keane reports. For one recipient a celebratory feast is

on the cards after receiving an OBE, lady Claire Macdonald is a

passionate advocate of Scottish produce. I'm not a born Scot, I'm

only married to one. So everything I say about Scotland and particularly

the food does come from the heart and it isn't immodest, icht is a

very honest observation. Geoff Palmer is made a Sir. He was

Scotland's first black professor and took the traditional brewing process

and reduced it by days. If the process took nine days, then what

the abrasion process did was reduced it to seven. That allowed companies

to make a lot more malt per year than they would otherwise make.

Because they were saving two days. Among the many charity workers, this

28-year-old organisers of the relay for life event in Petehead. She

began fund-raising aged 15. The researchers at cancer research are

doing incredible work and that motivates me to keep going. I also

sadly lost my aunt in August and that is a reminder that we have to

keep going. More than 100 people in Scotland have been honoured. Let's

find out what the weather has in store for the bells and beyond and

Gillian Smart is at the map. find out what the weather has in

store for the If you're out celebrating for the first part of

tonight, you will need your brolly, but after that it does improve and

by midnight most places will be dry, but chilly. This is the picture from

7 o'clock. Still some showers, including the odd heavy one. They

were be confined mostly to the north-west and elsewhere it will be

dry. But chilly with temperatures at three Celsius in Glasgow. And colder

in Inverness and Aberdeen and still some showers in the Western Isles

with winds touching gale force. Inland winds will be light. We head

into the new year and a familiar story. More weather warnings from

the Met Office tomorrow. The day will start fine, but we will see

rain pushing up from the south and it will turn heavy, particularly

over southern and central Scotland we could see further issues with

flooding and winds strengthening too. Temperatures six or so Celsius

and it will feel colder in the wind. Difficult conditions if you're

travelling with surface water and spray. We head into Thursday and the

best day of the week, dry and bright with sunshine and just a scattering

of showers. Mainly in the west. For Friday, another low pressure system

pushes many bringing more wet and windy weather our way.

Good evening. It looks like mother nature may provide her own

pyrotechnics in the run-up to bid night tonight. We have some heavy

showers in western parts, starting to ease a bit across Scotland