:00:00. > :00:00.That is all from the BBC News at 6.00pm. So goodbye from me and now
:00:00. > :00:08.The tail-end of hurricane Bertha brings flooding to the north,
:00:09. > :00:10.causing travel disruption and leading to the evacuation
:00:11. > :00:24.All of the appliances are being moved up the stairs, like the kettle
:00:25. > :00:29.The BBC obtains evidence that suggests many hospital wards are
:00:30. > :00:32.busier than recommended, which may increase the risk to patients.
:00:33. > :00:38.Soon, every household in Scotland will receive an impartial guide to
:00:39. > :00:41.boating in the referendum through the door.
:00:42. > :00:44.A major campaign begins to encourage Scots to vote in next
:00:45. > :00:47.And they're considered one of the country's best-loved dogs - but
:00:48. > :00:57.did you know the golden retriever originated in the highlands?
:00:58. > :01:00.Hundreds of people have been evacuated
:01:01. > :01:06.from their homes, railway lines flooded, and roads washed away.
:01:07. > :01:16.Scotland has being badly hit by high winds and heavy rain
:01:17. > :01:18.as the wake of what was Hurricane Bertha sweeps through the country.
:01:19. > :01:21.Almost 40 flood warnings are in place across Aberdeenshire,
:01:22. > :01:24.Speyside, Moray, Caithness and Sutherland, and Tayside.
:01:25. > :01:29.Our reporter joins us.
:01:30. > :01:37.A real route awakening here this morning. The river bursting its
:01:38. > :01:41.banks, you could see the damage done to this house. That has been
:01:42. > :01:46.repeated rate up the street. Carpets have had to be ripped from the
:01:47. > :01:54.floorboards. We will go inside and speak to the owner of the house. Can
:01:55. > :01:59.you describe what it was like this morning? It was horrendous. The
:02:00. > :02:03.water was cascading down the street. I was woken up at six o'clock in the
:02:04. > :02:09.morning I my son telling me that there was flooding in the garden and
:02:10. > :02:15.on the street. -- by my son telling me. It is the same in the
:02:16. > :02:22.neighbours's houses. Writes down the street. Absolutely. The whole of the
:02:23. > :02:29.village. Have you seen anything like this in your tenure? No, I have
:02:30. > :02:33.never seen anything like this. I have spoken to many people who have
:02:34. > :02:39.been here for 40 or 50 years, and they have never seen anything like
:02:40. > :02:46.it. I am afraid the situation has been like this and a lot of the
:02:47. > :02:57.villages around the community. Craig Anderson is in Elgin. What has it
:02:58. > :03:02.been like? Elgin is no stranger to flooding. There have been several
:03:03. > :03:15.damaging floods. But the tail end of the Harry Kane, all the emergency
:03:16. > :03:24.plans swung into action. -- hurricane. 200 householders heeded
:03:25. > :03:30.the advice to leave. We muck in and help each other and try to do as
:03:31. > :03:33.much as we can. All the important things are being moved up the
:03:34. > :03:43.stairs, like the kettle and things. Just in case. We're quite happy in
:03:44. > :03:53.meantime. Water levels on the river is reached new record hates. Real
:03:54. > :03:57.services were suspended. -- rail. The village of Dallas was cut off
:03:58. > :04:02.for a while. An agricultural show had to be cancelled. Last night it
:04:03. > :04:05.was getting roughened by three o'clock this morning we decided to
:04:06. > :04:12.close the show because it was unfair to exhibitors and stallholders to
:04:13. > :04:16.comment on that sort of weather. A small number of evacuees were cared
:04:17. > :04:23.for at a small reception centre in a local school, among them, a baby
:04:24. > :04:30.called Noah. The council has embarked on a multi-million pound
:04:31. > :04:33.flood defence scheme. It was ?86 million, the most expensive flood
:04:34. > :04:41.scheme ever in Scotland, if not Britain. We have to make sure that
:04:42. > :04:44.the public pound is properly followed and demonstrates value for
:04:45. > :04:49.money. I think that today has demonstrated it. An evening of
:04:50. > :04:58.sandbags and Wellington boots is in order as the hurricane it's the
:04:59. > :05:05.north-east of Scotland. -- arrives in the north-east of Scotland.
:05:06. > :05:09.It has been raining all afternoon and in the early evening. The flood
:05:10. > :05:13.risk remained substantial. Having experienced all of this many times
:05:14. > :05:16.before the authorities are certainly taking no chances and I'm keeping my
:05:17. > :05:19.waterproofs on for the time being. The wards of many of Scotland's
:05:20. > :05:21.hospitals have higher than recommended occupancy rates,
:05:22. > :05:23.according to data analysed by The figures, obtained under Freedom
:05:24. > :05:26.of Information legislation, suggest hospitals are so busy that patients
:05:27. > :05:30.may be at increased risk of harm. Our health correspondent
:05:31. > :05:34.Eleanor Bradford reports. We wanted to find out how busy
:05:35. > :05:37.Scotland's hospitals are. To do that, you calculate something
:05:38. > :05:40.called the Bed Occupancy Rate. There are different ways
:05:41. > :05:45.of doing this. Say you have six beds in a ward,
:05:46. > :05:48.the NHS's way - and the government's preferred way - is
:05:49. > :05:51.to count the beds and the patients, and if more patients arrive than
:05:52. > :05:54.you have beds for, include any beds But this doesn't tell you
:05:55. > :06:00.when a ward is overflowing. What we've done is just count
:06:01. > :06:02.the beds that were originally Well, the recent experience of Colin
:06:03. > :06:26.Angus, visiting his sister-in-law, She was moved from Ward to Ward and
:06:27. > :06:31.bed to bed with in that short period of time that she was in. She was
:06:32. > :06:38.totally confused when she was in hospital. The family, her principal
:06:39. > :06:44.carers, her two daughters, and the rest of the family, found it quite
:06:45. > :06:46.difficult. They were sending messages to say that she had moved
:06:47. > :06:49.Ward again. Using our calculations,
:06:50. > :06:51.you can see that many Scottish Research suggests that Bed Occupancy
:06:52. > :06:55.Rates of over 85% increase We found rates regularly higher than
:06:56. > :06:59.that in Glasgow and Edinburgh's large hospitals, and hospitals
:07:00. > :07:01.in the Borders, Dunfermline, In Greenock we found
:07:02. > :07:04.the highest rate of all - The Scottish Government
:07:05. > :07:21.disagrees with our figures. I have always said that there are
:07:22. > :07:25.pressure points in the health service, clearly. I am open about
:07:26. > :07:30.the pressure points. What I am also saying is that if you take the
:07:31. > :07:35.period covered by your survey, we bring nationally banged on the 85%,
:07:36. > :07:39.there were local variations, but none as far as we were concerned as
:07:40. > :07:41.much as 133%. You can see more information
:07:42. > :07:43.about this story on our website, including an interactive map showing
:07:44. > :07:46.how busy your local hospital is, and more detail on why our figures
:07:47. > :07:49.differ from the government's. You're watching Reporting Scotland
:07:50. > :07:50.from the BBC. Still to come
:07:51. > :07:54.on tonight's programme: How thousands gathered
:07:55. > :07:57.a century ago for a peace protest in Glasgow just days before
:07:58. > :08:08.the First World War broke out. In sport we hear from Gordon
:08:09. > :08:13.Strachan on his hopes for a new football performance Academy. There
:08:14. > :08:19.is also a new potential signing for Celtic this evening. And the
:08:20. > :08:20.Scottish athlete who is hoping to turn Commonwealth disappointment
:08:21. > :08:25.into European Championship medal. The name of a man who died when a
:08:26. > :08:29.light aircraft crashed on the Isle He was 63-year-old Thomas McGowan
:08:30. > :08:32.of Stonehouse in Lanarkshire. A 52-year-old man who was also
:08:33. > :08:36.in the plane remains in An investigation into the crash
:08:37. > :08:39.near Kingarth is continuing. A major campaign to encourage Scots
:08:40. > :08:42.to vote in next month's referendum It comes as the
:08:43. > :08:44.Deputy First Minister says the country can become fairer,
:08:45. > :08:48.but only if there's a Yes vote. Nicola Sturgeon was speaking
:08:49. > :08:50.as she announced ?500,000 extra Political opponents said her
:08:51. > :08:57.ideas lacked clarity and detail. Our Political Editor Brian Taylor
:08:58. > :09:13.reports. A food bank in Maryhill, Glasgow.
:09:14. > :09:17.Choice and necessity. As we head to the referendum and beyond supporters
:09:18. > :09:21.of independence say that Scotland could choose a fairer society.
:09:22. > :09:25.Supporters of independence now that they have had a tough week on the
:09:26. > :09:27.issue of currency. They know that they need to move on to the issue of
:09:28. > :09:33.attentional economic benefits that could you brought about by
:09:34. > :09:39.independence. Since June, 2013, we have seen probably double the amount
:09:40. > :09:45.of families coming. The very sad thing for me is that a lot of them
:09:46. > :09:49.are working poor. Nicola Sturgeon says that an independent Scotland
:09:50. > :09:53.could be a favourite place, by using resources more widely and cutting
:09:54. > :09:59.costs is, like those for nuclear weapons. Scotland already pays for
:10:00. > :10:03.all of the services that we get, but some of the money is spent on things
:10:04. > :10:08.that the majority of people in Scotland I do not think agree with.
:10:09. > :10:13.It is about using our substantial resources better than is done
:10:14. > :10:16.currently by Westminster. The Scottish Secretary at a business in
:10:17. > :10:22.Galashiels. He says that Nicola Sturgeon's plan lacks detail on tax
:10:23. > :10:27.and especially on the currency. To dissolve a well coming up with grand
:10:28. > :10:36.plans on spending, health, welfare, but if you cannot tell anyone what
:10:37. > :10:44.the currency will be... -- it is all very well. A gentle remainder from
:10:45. > :10:47.the electoral commission. If you want to vote in the referendum you
:10:48. > :10:50.have to register by the 2nd of September. It is about choice, your
:10:51. > :10:54.choice. So, Brian, a new week
:10:55. > :11:06.in the campaign - what are we likely It is about context now. The details
:11:07. > :11:11.from Nicola Sturgeon will be set into context in a week. The
:11:12. > :11:14.independence campaigners want to play up what they see as the
:11:15. > :11:18.opportunities of independence. There will be the NN spent a day on food
:11:19. > :11:28.banks, more tomorrow on jobs, more on welfare. They will try to stress
:11:29. > :11:34.this in context of the advantages that they believe independence could
:11:35. > :11:38.bring. The opposition are poking away at the weak points, the big one
:11:39. > :11:40.they think is the currency. They just simply will not let that go.
:11:41. > :11:47.Here's Sarah Smith with details of tonight's Scotland 2014.
:11:48. > :11:53.Tonight we will be discussing why women seem less likely to vote for
:11:54. > :12:00.independence than men. New analysis shows a bigger gender gap than ever.
:12:01. > :12:03.So why is that? Find out at 10:30pm on BBC Two tonight.
:12:04. > :12:05.A look at other stories from the across the country.
:12:06. > :12:07.Edinburgh airport has broken its previous record
:12:08. > :12:10.More than 1.1 million people travelled through the terminal
:12:11. > :12:13.in July - a 4% increase in the number of international passengers,
:12:14. > :12:18.Meanwhile, Glasgow Airport has recorded
:12:19. > :12:25.More than 840,000 passengers travelled through its doors,
:12:26. > :12:29.giving the airport its 18th consecutive month of growth.
:12:30. > :12:31.A floating hotel is to be berthed alongside the former
:12:32. > :12:38.Almost ?1 million will be spent converting the MV Windsor Castle.
:12:39. > :12:41.Britannia has been moored as a visitor attraction in the Port
:12:42. > :12:46.of Leith since retiring from royal duty 17 years ago.
:12:47. > :12:48.Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park brought
:12:49. > :12:53.the countryside to the city today, giving passengers at Queen Street
:12:54. > :12:57.Station in Glasgow the chance to step into a virtual woodland.
:12:58. > :13:00.At the same time, commuters were shown the real-life conservation
:13:01. > :13:15.And people can get involved by just coming out and enjoying the wildlife
:13:16. > :13:19.that we have, or by doing surveys for us. But the most important thing
:13:20. > :13:21.is to inspire people about our wonderful nature.
:13:22. > :13:23.Police say the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival passed successfully
:13:24. > :13:25.with very low levels of disorder and crime and just three arrests.
:13:26. > :13:28.The sell-out show near Beauly, which was headlined by Tom Jones and
:13:29. > :13:32.The cancellation of this year's RockNess left Belladrum as
:13:33. > :13:45.There are over 3,000 shows at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, and
:13:46. > :13:47.just a small percentage which deal with the forthcoming referendum.
:13:48. > :13:50.But it seems like the issue is a major talking point at this year's
:13:51. > :13:58.festivals, as our arts correspondent Pauline McLean reports.
:13:59. > :14:03.Scotland's festivals are truly international, and there is no sense
:14:04. > :14:07.this year that there are any more Scottish or was than normal, that
:14:08. > :14:17.have to include. But this year it seems that Scotland is on
:14:18. > :14:23.everyone's mind. Some shows deal direct with the subject, like this
:14:24. > :14:27.one by the National Collective. Three nights a week they will
:14:28. > :14:38.showcase music, poetry and political views from around the world. We have
:14:39. > :14:40.a lot of amazing talent, so I imagine that people will come,
:14:41. > :14:47.regardless of whether they are voting yes. The whole idea behind
:14:48. > :14:54.National Collective is not too galvanised people who are already
:14:55. > :15:08.behind an independent Scotland, but to engage those who ran decided. A
:15:09. > :15:11.lot of people are thinking about it, but some people are worried about
:15:12. > :15:15.the reaction they will get from an audience. But you have to go frit
:15:16. > :15:24.because it is such a current topic. A number of shows do not touch on
:15:25. > :15:30.the topic at all. Simon Callow was one of 200 celebrities who signed a
:15:31. > :15:37.letter last year urging people to vote no. It cannot be avoided, it
:15:38. > :15:45.must be talked about, but I hope that it does not become the
:15:46. > :15:49.overwhelming issue. Almost nine tenths of the material will not be
:15:50. > :15:53.abated. It would be sad if it were to overwhelm the festival, but
:15:54. > :16:02.perhaps that is necessary. Some people cannot resist stirring up the
:16:03. > :16:04.debate. One show asks the audience to settle the argument with a beak
:16:05. > :16:14.off. -- bake off. A century ago,
:16:15. > :16:16.just days after the start of the first World War, Glasgow was the
:16:17. > :16:19.venue for the largest peace protest Now there are calls to commemorate
:16:20. > :16:29.the conscientious objectors We know the story of the men who
:16:30. > :16:38.answered the call of King and country and queued up to enlist. But
:16:39. > :16:44.there is another story of those who resisted the call to arms. It is a
:16:45. > :16:52.story that was not called at the time, except in the pages of the
:16:53. > :16:59.Independent Labour Party's or newspaper. The official party line
:17:00. > :17:10.in the press was very much in favour of the war. It attracted around 5000
:17:11. > :17:15.people, despite the risks of taking part in the peace process. If you
:17:16. > :17:19.were a conscientious objector you would be turned over to the military
:17:20. > :17:25.here in Dundee. You could end up in dais, breaking rubble and storm, and
:17:26. > :17:29.many in Wakefield. You could be arrested and tried for the same
:17:30. > :17:34.crime not once, but twice, three times. Glasgow was one of the
:17:35. > :17:41.biggest recruiting grounds for the war, many people signed up from the
:17:42. > :17:45.first week onwards. The city battalions kitted out before the War
:17:46. > :17:51.office took over. There was in TCS Dick responses, so it must have
:17:52. > :18:01.taken great courage -- there was a really in TCS Dick responds. We
:18:02. > :18:07.should also remember the heroism of those who had the foresight to see
:18:08. > :18:13.how damaging this war was, the courage to argue that there should
:18:14. > :18:15.be a negotiated settlement. The legacy of the world lives with us to
:18:16. > :18:25.this day. -- the war. Sports, and football returned
:18:26. > :18:27.to Scotland at the weekend. But today thoughts turned to
:18:28. > :18:28.the future. The Scotland manager Gordon Strachan
:18:29. > :18:31.wants the world's top clubs queuing up to sign this country's best young
:18:32. > :18:34.talent in the years ahead. Strachan was speaking as almost
:18:35. > :18:36.100 children began a secondary As our senior football reporter
:18:37. > :18:43.Alasdair Lamont explains, they could be the ones joining Real
:18:44. > :18:57.Madrid or Barcelona in the future. As first days at high school go,
:18:58. > :19:02.this one may be right up there. People will be a huge part of the
:19:03. > :19:07.school curriculum. 95 of Scotland's most promising youngsters start
:19:08. > :19:17.across seven performance schools. They will spend an additional 383
:19:18. > :19:20.errors he should -- 303 -- 383 errors each with a big bowl. But
:19:21. > :19:28.what will the improvement look like? The technique, the fewer
:19:29. > :19:32.problems that you will have in the game. If you have the break to main
:19:33. > :19:35.set to focus, if they are in love with football, and they are
:19:36. > :19:43.determined to become the best player that they can be, I think that there
:19:44. > :19:48.will be fantastic talent. Was this crop may not be ready to help Gordon
:19:49. > :19:54.Strachan, he wants his successors to reap the benefits. We would like to
:19:55. > :19:58.see Real Madrid buying players, Barcelona buying our players. Look
:19:59. > :20:03.at Germany, everybody can handle the ball. That is where you were looking
:20:04. > :20:07.as a manager. You want to everybody can manage the ball. You want to be
:20:08. > :20:11.able to trust who you are giving the ball too, as a player.
:20:12. > :20:17.So are these players ready to live up to those expectations? If we work
:20:18. > :20:22.hard, it could happen. If we improve our skills. I cannot wait until
:20:23. > :20:28.school starts. Not freeze that you hear every day, but good news for
:20:29. > :20:31.the teachers who will expect to get new attention from the peoples.
:20:32. > :20:33.Celtic's participation in the final qualifying round of the Champions
:20:34. > :20:54.The Scottish 1,500 metre record holder says she'll put one
:20:55. > :20:57.of the biggest disappointments of her life to one side by
:20:58. > :21:05.targetting a place on the European Championships podium this week.
:21:06. > :21:07.Laura Muir was hoping for a Commonwealth medal, but was clipped
:21:08. > :21:14.Now she joins five other Scots in Zurich
:21:15. > :21:23.as Team GB hopes to capitalise on the Glasgow 2014 feel-good factor.
:21:24. > :21:34.Glasgow 2014 had an altogether different outcome for Laura Muir.
:21:35. > :21:39.What a shame for Laura Muir. She caught somebody's leg as she came
:21:40. > :21:42.into the street. It was pretty heartbreaking. It meant everything
:21:43. > :21:48.to me. It was difficult, but the next they may coach said, you can
:21:49. > :21:54.have a day off if you want. I went for a run and got back into training
:21:55. > :21:58.and had been working hard. She had shown fine form all year, including
:21:59. > :22:03.setting a new Scottish record. Others in Europe have run faster,
:22:04. > :22:08.but Laura Muir will not write off her chances of any medal this week.
:22:09. > :22:12.I cannot think like that, I have to think that I can beat everybody. I
:22:13. > :22:23.am going to give it my best shot and hope that it goes well. Seven Scots
:22:24. > :22:30.have travelled to Dudek. -- Z?rich. Ely Child and Lindsay Sharp will be
:22:31. > :22:32.there. Good luck to all athletes in Z?rich this week.
:22:33. > :22:36.Now let's take a look at what else is happening across Scottish sport.
:22:37. > :22:51.Hearts will be without the goalkeeper this month. Dundee United
:22:52. > :22:55.scuppered Aberdeen's hopes of getting their league season off to a
:22:56. > :23:09.good start with a three - zero win at Pittodrie. The deal is done, we
:23:10. > :23:15.can start the redevelopment. But during the course of this season,
:23:16. > :23:29.hopefully we have got a home for Aberdeen football club. Partick
:23:30. > :23:40.Thistle have added Seaborne to the squad. Edinburgh Rugby travel to
:23:41. > :23:43.Munster for the first game. Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler are two
:23:44. > :23:50.other main players whose places have been confirmed in US Ryder Cup team
:23:51. > :23:56.for Gleneagles in November. There are more sport stories plus the
:23:57. > :24:00.latest news 24 hours a day on BBC Sport Scotland's website.
:24:01. > :24:03.A life-sized bronze statue has been unveiled in the Highlands to one
:24:04. > :24:05.of the country's best-loved dogs - the golden retriever.
:24:06. > :24:08.They're found worldwide but few realise the breed was started by
:24:09. > :24:33.It was nearly 150 years ago. There was a gap in the market for
:24:34. > :24:39.something to pick-up the birds that were being shot, and he set about
:24:40. > :24:44.breeding something. He took a Tweed water spaniel and a curly coated
:24:45. > :24:48.retriever and bred the first golden retriever. They are a favourite with
:24:49. > :25:01.advertisers and one of the nation's test loved pet sensual dial -- best
:25:02. > :25:07.loved pets and show dogs. Some of the clubs have a membership of over
:25:08. > :25:15.2000. A lot of the money has been raised in the USA. There was nothing
:25:16. > :25:20.here except the ruins of the mansion and that does not say anything about
:25:21. > :25:25.the dogs. We wanted to say that this is where it began. There are very
:25:26. > :25:29.few breeds about whom you read ever be able to see, that breed of
:25:30. > :25:38.puppies started the golden retriever. It is hoped that in four
:25:39. > :25:45.years time, 2018, the 150th anniversary, there will be many
:25:46. > :25:50.more. Time for the weather.
:25:51. > :25:56.The heavy rain and the strong winds have not finished with us. We still
:25:57. > :25:59.have a yellow beer we still have a yellow bear we're warning from The
:26:00. > :26:05.Met Office covering northern and central parts of Scotland. This
:26:06. > :26:10.low-pressure centres close to Shetland is the cause. You can see
:26:11. > :26:15.these heavy bands of rain. Strong to gale force winds across the country.
:26:16. > :26:22.More to come across the north-west Highlands, even the odd rumble of
:26:23. > :26:27.thunder. That rain getting as far south as the central belt by
:26:28. > :26:30.tomorrow morning. When is still strong and touching gale force
:26:31. > :26:35.around exposed northern coast. A pretty poor start to do tomorrow,
:26:36. > :26:39.wet and windy for many of us. Difficult conditions for the
:26:40. > :26:46.rush-hour. The main been banned tends to sink southwards. Still
:26:47. > :26:49.outbreaks of showery rain. By four o'clock, the most persistent stuff
:26:50. > :26:55.will be across Dumfries Galloway, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and the
:26:56. > :27:00.Borders. It starts to fragment and we will see drier interludes, even
:27:01. > :27:08.some brightness. Still some heavy showers in the mix. Still windy. The
:27:09. > :27:12.one place where winds will fall later Shetland, situated as it is
:27:13. > :27:21.right in the centre of that low. But we will keep those dusty winds
:27:22. > :27:27.going. Into urgency, low pressure still close enough to bring us
:27:28. > :27:31.another wet day. The winds will not be quite as strong, a bit in the
:27:32. > :27:34.we're brightness as the wind moves more into the north. A sheltered
:27:35. > :27:40.affect for central and southern Scotland, that more in the way of
:27:41. > :27:46.brightness. Into Thursday, quieter week two things. Those eyes of
:27:47. > :27:51.buyers not to quietly -- not so tightly packed. Some rain is in
:27:52. > :27:56.between and a better feeling day without those strong winds.
:27:57. > :28:01.That is all for now. I am back with an update just after the ten o'clock
:28:02. > :28:03.News. Join me for that if you can. Until then, from everyone in the
:28:04. > :28:05.team, good evening.