The cost of cleaning up flood damage in Aberdeenshire is expected to hit £7.6m.

Around £1.7m has already been spent following a series of storms which hit the north east in December and January, according to new figures given to councillors.

Repairs to 22 flood-damaged council houses in Ballater could add up to as much as £50,000 per home.

The replacement of a section of the A93 that collapsed into the River Dee has already cost around £300,000.

The clean-up of Ballater Caravan Park, where more than 100 caravans were destroyed, will total £98,000.

Councillors will be asked to approve a further £3m towards the total £7.6m cost of the clean-up at a meeting on March 3.

The Scottish Government has made grants of up to £1500 available for anyone whose property was destroyed.

Families had to be rescued from their homes after the River Don swelled to its highest recorded level and burst its banks in January.

Elderly residents were among those rescued from 18 homes in Ellon and others were urged to leave their houses as the River Ythan rose.

The River Don rose to at 18.4ft in Inverurie, its highest level for 45 years. In Ellon, the Ythan peaked at 14.4ft, nearly 4ft higher than the previous record set in 1983.