Joining forces against storm Neighbours rally to help each other as hurricane-force winds leave trail of havoc and destruction.

From John O'Groats to Gretna, few communities escaped the hurricane-force gusts which wreaked havoc and caused extensive damage to properties. The bill for repairs is expected to run into tens of millions of pounds. Roofs of houses in Dumfries, Edinburgh, Glasgow and many other areas were ripped off and chimneys fell like ninepins.

Trees were scythed by the 90mph winds and roads were blocked and cars flattened. Many families in Glasgow were evacuated to bed and breakfast accommodation. Transport chaos was widespread.

The blitz spirit was much in evidence as householders gave each other support. Tens of thousands of people were still without power last night. Several victims of the blackout in West Central Scotland telephoned The Herald complaining that they could not contact ScottishPower helplines, more than 24 hours after they lost their electricity supplies.

Mr Duncan McLean, from Strathaven, who was visiting relatives in Largs for a Boxing Day dinner, said: ''We can contact Scottish Hydro and BT but can't get through to ScottishPower. ''It is ridiculous that after 24 hours people still have no idea when they are likely to get power restored to their homes.'' A ScottishPower spokesman said the problems had arisen because of the volume of calls, combined with problems with telephone lines.

In a normal day, he said, their helpline received 10,000 calls. Some 500,000 callers had tried to get through in the past 24 hours with 100,000 of those being successful. At its peak 10,000 people phoned during one five-minute period.

Taxi drivers described seeing satellite dishes being wrested from the sides of houses and sent whirling through the air like UFOs. In Glasgow, perspex panels protecting the city council's nativity scene in George Square were blown in by the high winds. The council drafted in more than 200 building services workers to board up windows and put tarpaulins over damaged roofs.

Extra social work staff were enlisted to help evacuate 39 elderly people from Carmichael House in Bridgeton after the roof was blown off. Four-week-old Emily Colley was among those who had a lucky escape. She was unharmed after the metal roof of a garage was thrown into the wall of the bedroom where she was sleeping.

The baby's father, Mr Andrew Colley, said at his home in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, yesterday: ''She could easily have been killed. We heard a huge crash and the next thing my young son ran down the stairs screaming. ''I ran up to find out what had happened.

We looked out the bedroom window to see a large section of a garage hanging over the edge of the roof above Emily.'' Ms Karen Monaghan, an intensive care nurse at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, was among hundreds who discovered their car flattened by fallen masonry and roof tiles after the gales died down. The Bishopbriggs resident said: ''I had parked my #5000 Fiat Punto in the hospital car park before starting a nightshift.

I returned to the car to find it completely buried. The only thing you could see was the number plate and the wheels. I suppose I was lucky I wasn't in it at the time.''

Mr Bill McCabe, a retired factory worker from Dumfries, was one of five residents in Carrick Road, Lochside, to have the flat roof blown off his house. ''I was watching television when the windows began to shake,'' he said. ''The whole house began to vibrate. I could feel the hair going up the back of my neck.

Even the cat jumped. Then I heard the crash as the roof came off.'' At Southerness Holiday Village, near Dumfries, thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused to caravans after they were tossed about by the wind.

In Edinburgh, the gales brought down one of Scotland's oldest trees. The Corstorphine Sycamore had stood for an estimated 600 years, latterly in the garden of marine geologist, Mr Richard Holmes, 52, and his family in Dovecote Road. It almost fell victim to a fungus a decade ago.

After that scare, ropes and stays had been put in by the Corstorphine Trust to keep it upright. Pantomime bosses at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr are hoping the show will go on today after part of the roof was blown away during the Boxing night performance. The show's star, Dean Park, who plays Mother Goose, had to ask the audience to leave just before the interval on the advice of police.

Theatre manager Gordon Taylor said: ''It really is a miracle no-one was hurt.

We are clearing up the debris.

Hopefully, the show will go on if we get building control clearance.''