HEAVY RAIN AND 90MPH WINDS LEAVE THOUSANDS OF HOMES WITHOUT POWER
- 7,000 electricity customers without power in Northern Ireland, and another 3,500 in north-west England
- Nearly 900 homes also lose electricity in South Wales after a high-voltage electrical cable is blown down
- Air France and Ryanair aeroplanes seen landing sideways at Bristol Airport in dramatic videos and images
- Environment Agency has put in place 25 flood warnings and 117 flood alerts across England and Wales
- Republic of Ireland also affected as 23-year-old woman dies when tree falls on her car in Co Westmeath
- Stoke City's football match against Manchester United temporarily suspended due to heavy rain and hail
- Games had to be abandoned in second half in both Sheffield and Crawley due to waterlogged pitches
- Man, 19, left with facial wounds after falling tree smashes car windscreen on A45 road in Warwickshire
- Unsuccessful search for man, 45, who fell overboard from a small cargo ship moored on the River Trent
Gusts of up to 90mph were forecast for Northern Ireland and north-west Scotland overnight, with torrential weather making its way down into England.
Storms caused by an Atlantic depression left 7,000 electricity customers without power in Northern Ireland and another 3,500 in north-west England.
Air France and Ryanair aeroplanes were pictured landing sideways at Bristol Airport as the UK was hit by winds yesterday that reached up to 75mph.
The top speed was recorded at Castlederg in Northern Ireland, with a Met Office amber weather warning for the area as well as western Scotland.
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Take cover! Peter Crouch of Stoke City reacts as
heavy rain falls and play is halted during his side's Capital One Cup
Quarter Final match against Manchester United
Getting through: There was flooding on the
Westlink road last night in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following
torrential rain and high winds that brought down trees
Dangerous conditions: Waves crash over the seafront at Penarth in South Wales, south-west of Cardiff
Northern Ireland Electricity and Electricity North West said some could be without power overnight. Western Power was also working to restore power.
An NIE spokesman said: ‘We are expecting the winds to peak in the early hours of the morning, causing additional disruption to electricity supplies.’
At 11pm NIE said 1,000 customers remained without power, but added that it expected further damage and more power cuts throughout the night.
Thousands were affected in the Republic of Ireland, where a 23-year-old woman died when a tree fell on her car near Mullingar in County Westmeath.
The Environment Agency had 25 flood warnings in place just after midnight in England and Wales, with flooding expected and immediate action required.
Warnings were concentrated across the South West, Wales and the North-West. There were also 117 flood alerts, with flooding possible.
Wednesday night football fixtures were hit, with a Sky Bet Championship football match in Sheffield abandoned when heavy rain left the pitch unplayable.
Making it down: An Air France aeroplane was
pictured landing sideways at Bristol Airport as Britain was hit by winds
yesterday that reached up to 75mph
On the ground: The Air France aeroplane lands at
Bristol Airport as gusts of up to 90mph were forecast for western
Scotland overnight
Warnings: The Environment Agency had 25 flood
warnings in place just after midnight in England and Wales, with
flooding expected and immediate action required
Maps: This graphic (left) by Metdesk shows a
radar rain image last night, and a Met Office image (right) shows an
amber weather warning in place for western Scotland
Sheffield
Wednesday's home match against Wigan, at Hillsborough, was
called off early in the second half after large puddles appeared on the
pitch.
Stoke City's home quarter-final tie against Manchester United in the Capital One League Cup was temporarily suspended due to heavy rain and hail.
Referee Mark Clattenburg briefly pulled players off the Britannia Stadium's pitch, but play was resumed shortly afterwards and United went on to win 2-0.
And the FA Cup second round replay between Crawley Town and Bristol Rovers was abandoned in the second half because of a waterlogged pitch.
Debris caused havoc on roads and railways, seeing a man to be taken to hospital with head and chest injuries after the car he was travelling in was hit.
The falling tree smashed the windscreen and left the front passenger, a 19-year-old man, with facial wounds, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
He was anaesthetised at the scene and taken to hospital. Another passenger, a man in his 50s, and the male driver received minor injuries.
The accident happened at about 6pm on the A45, between Stretton-on-Dunsmore and Rugby, in Warwickshire.
Stoke City's home quarter-final tie against Manchester United in the Capital One League Cup was temporarily suspended due to heavy rain and hail.
Referee Mark Clattenburg briefly pulled players off the Britannia Stadium's pitch, but play was resumed shortly afterwards and United went on to win 2-0.
And the FA Cup second round replay between Crawley Town and Bristol Rovers was abandoned in the second half because of a waterlogged pitch.
Debris caused havoc on roads and railways, seeing a man to be taken to hospital with head and chest injuries after the car he was travelling in was hit.
The falling tree smashed the windscreen and left the front passenger, a 19-year-old man, with facial wounds, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
He was anaesthetised at the scene and taken to hospital. Another passenger, a man in his 50s, and the male driver received minor injuries.
The accident happened at about 6pm on the A45, between Stretton-on-Dunsmore and Rugby, in Warwickshire.
Walking away: Referee Mark Clattenburg brings
the players off as heavy rain falls and play is halted during the match
between Stoke City and Manchester United
Running: Players leave the pitch due to the hail
during the Capital One Cup match at the Britannia Stadium. The game was
later resumed and United won 2-0
No more play: A Sky Bet Championship football
match between Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan Athletic at Hillsborough was
abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch
The end: Crawley Town and Bristol Rovers
footballers leave the pitch as their FA Cup second round replay match is
abandoned due to bad weather at Broadfield Stadium
An ambulance spokesman said: ‘The driver of the car was also taken to the same hospital as a precaution.’
Police closed the A595 at Moota in Cumbria after the roof was blown off a hotel, with motorists asked to avoid the area.
A roof blew off another property in Seaton and disruption due to trees blocking roads was reported in Whitehaven and Hackthorpe.
There were also delays for train passengers across parts of the South West.
South West Trains reported problems due to trees on the track near Sherborne in Dorset and on a train between Exeter and Axeminster in Devon.
Also, a South West service hit a fallen tree in the New Forest last night at about 9pm near Hinton Admiral on the Brockenhurst to Bournemouth route.
Last night, coastguards and an RAF helicopter were involved in an unsuccessful search for a missing sailor in conditions described as ‘very poor’.
Police closed the A595 at Moota in Cumbria after the roof was blown off a hotel, with motorists asked to avoid the area.
A roof blew off another property in Seaton and disruption due to trees blocking roads was reported in Whitehaven and Hackthorpe.
There were also delays for train passengers across parts of the South West.
South West Trains reported problems due to trees on the track near Sherborne in Dorset and on a train between Exeter and Axeminster in Devon.
Also, a South West service hit a fallen tree in the New Forest last night at about 9pm near Hinton Admiral on the Brockenhurst to Bournemouth route.
Last night, coastguards and an RAF helicopter were involved in an unsuccessful search for a missing sailor in conditions described as ‘very poor’.
Going forward: A forecaster said there is a
possibility of snow tomorrow in the South-West, but it is unlikely to
settle at lower levels
Splash: A fisherman casts off into a rough North
Sea near Sunderland yesterday, as winds whip up waves ahead of an
incoming storm
Crash: Strong winds whip up waves against the
sea wall at Sunderland yesterday ahead of the storm which is due to
cause disruption across much of Britain
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency
said a 45-year-old man fell overboard from a small cargo ship moored on
the River Trent in North Lincolnshire.A spokesman said the man was working with ropes on the MV Sea Melody when he appeared to become entangled and was pulled over the side.
A helicopter from RAF Leconfield in East Yorkshire began a search with an infra-red camera and a coastguard team from Hull was also mobilised.
The spokesman said weather conditions in the area were very poor with gale force winds, and cold, driving rain.
Humber Coastguard watch manager Mike Puplett said: 'We understand that the crewman was not wearing a life jacket.
'In these conditions particularly, I would say this should have been an essential bare minimum of safety equipment.
‘We have now stood the search down for the night, and will continue searching during tomorrow.’
Multiscreen: Staff are pictured working at the Highways Agency's East Regional control centre at South Mimms in Hertfordshire
Preparations: Roads Minister Robert Goodwill
(left), with Ian Spellacey, managing director of Connect Plus Services,
who runs the maintenance depot
Early start: The sun rises yesterday over the
beautiful village of Duntisbourne Abbots, near Cirencester,
Gloucestershire. The weather is set to turn in the next 24 hours
Forecasters said snow is possible today in the South-West, but it is unlikely to settle at lower levels, and there is a risk of strong gales in exposed areas.
Devon was particularly badly hit yesterday, with 70mph gusts reported by Dartmoor Zoo and the Higher Ferry at Dartmouth was closed due to high winds.
The council was urging people to travel with care and said road surfaces could also drop below freezing, adding that gritters would be out on the roads.
Meanwhile a kite surfer was pictured braving mountainous seas whipped up by the high winds in front of Old Harry Rocks near Bournemouth, Dorset.
And a sobbing young woman seen walking along a seafront in a pink dressing gown was last night at the centre of a major police search in Hampshire.
The young woman vanished after being spotted close to the water’s edge in Beachlands on Hayling Island by a concerned passer-by, who alerted police.
A police spokesman said: ‘We are making an urgent appeal for information about a report of a missing woman in the Hayling Island area.’
SOURCE:DAILYMAIL
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