An Inverness hotel is counting the cost after overnight flooding closed its restaurant indefinitely.
Thyme restaurant, part of the Premier Inn hotel on Millburn Road, is shut today and unlikely to re-open anytime soon after heavy rain battered parts of the Highland capital.
A number of properties were affected in nearby Diriebught Road when the Mill Burn overflowed and a wall collapsed.
Sepa had issued a flood warning for the area in anticipation of the overnight rainfall.
A staff member at the hotel said none of its guest rooms were affected but that customers were being told to go elsewhere for food.
He added: “Something similar did happen around five years ago and the restaurant was closed for around a month. I’d say that this looks like the same level.”
Parts of the hotel’s car park remained underwater at lunchtime today.
One woman, who asked not to be named, said she had hardly slept once she heard the strength of the rain coming down outside her home in Diriebught Road.
She said: “It has happened here many, many times. Fortunately, this house seems to be built for this kind of thing because we didn’t get any water in the house.
“The flood warning gave us a bit of notice but you never know how bad it’s going to be so it’s not always easy to go out and pile up the sandbags every time one is issued.
“It’s something that seems to be getting worse with all the new houses that are being built around Inverness.”
The Mill Burn is prone to flooding at several points and Highland Council conducted a review of the area back in 2011.
The study identified Diriebught Road as one of the most at-risk areas.
Staff from the council’s community services team began responding to flooding and road issues at 2am.
The B9006 was closed between Culloden Moor and Croy with particular problems close to Brinkman Terrace and the Cantraybruich bend.
In Ross and Cromarty, temporary traffic lights were in place because of a landslip at Fairy Glen on the A832.
There was also flooding on Strathconon Road and on the A832 between Tore and Fortrose.
