Weather stories: I'm trying to keep my baby twins warm and fed

The BBC has been speaking to people enduring blistering winds, sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall on Shetland.

Weather conditions have caused a mass power outage and many do not have access to alternative ways to heat their home.

Here is how they have been coping.

Siobhan Bradley had premature twins eight weeks ago and is now trying to keep them warm and fed with no power in Shetland.

Babies Danny and Annie were born five weeks early.

When the power failed on Monday, Siobhan, the twins and her nine-year-old son Benjamin moved into her partner Gary Leask’s mother’s home a mile-and-a-half away.

They are now in a room with a wood burner to keep them warm.

They are among 2,500 households which have been without electricity since heavy snow and ice disrupted supplies.

Power firm Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has warned that some customers might not get reconnected until the end of the week.

“I had my twins eight weeks ago yesterday, five weeks early,” the 37-year-old, who is in Whalsay, told BBC Scotland.

“When the power went off we knew it was going to be pretty bad so we soon left.

“Now at my partner’s mum’s we have a wood burner.

“Me and my partner and the twins and my son are all in that one room sleeping, with blankets in front of the fire. It’s mental.

“I am keeping the milk for the twins outside. When it’s dark it’s difficult, getting them changed.”

Of food, she explained: “We’ve been back to our house and emptied the freezer – it was baltic in there.

“We’ve been frying food, eating pasta – anything easy – and having the Christmas snacks.”

For the last two days Amanda Slater, a farmer in the west of Shetland, has had to go on foot to feed her animals – some of which have been located 10 miles away.

In areas around her home, near the village of Bixter, she estimates the snow drift has been about 6ft high.

“It’s been challenging that’s for sure, it’s been a bit of a trek trying to get them all fed,” she told BBC Radio Scotland’s Lunchtime Live programme.

“Today we were on foot because there were SSE engineers trying to fix cables. There was actually a cable snapped lying in the pony’s field.”

Amanda has no power or signal at her home so she has had to temporarily move to her mother’s home, which has a peat fire.

A number of other family members have gathered there as well, and everyone has been huddling in one room trying to keep warm.

“We’ve got the barbecue on in the shed so we made a cup of tea on the barbecue last night,” she said.

While Amanda’s family copes as best they can, they have concerns about the more vulnerable members of the community.

She has taken a 97-year-old neighbour to the nearest care home because they had no means of heating their house or making hot meals.

Amanda said local halls were offering a warm place to sit and everyone was trying to “muck in”.

But she added: “We’re ready for it to be over already.”

Matt Davenport, 41, also lost power at the family home in Upper Voe, Shetland, at the start of the week.

After two days, his wife and their nine nine-year-old son went to stay with her sister who does have power.

However Mr Davenport, a supervisor with Lerwick Engineering and Fabrication (LEF), has remained at home.

He has borrowed a camping stove for food – with his nearby work at Sullom Voe offering the chance of warmth and the ability to recharge his phone.

“We have oil-fired central heating and there’s no power,” he said of their modern three-bedroom single-storey detached house.

“Luckily I got a camping stove from a neighbour, so last night I heated up a tin of beans.”

He explained: “I had a couple of duvets on the bed and wrapped up warm – I slept no bother actually. The house was cold but under blankets was OK.

“There is obviously no shower, so I put on a pan of water and had a quick wash and a coffee.

“We have power here at work, so I have charging and communication.

“Power lines have come down so it’s not going to be a two-minute job. They are doing their best. The power might be back on tomorrow. You just have to make the best of it.”