Video: Gales lash Yorkshire, with more on the way

Gusts of up to 87mph were recorded at Capel Curig in Wales at 2am, and speeds of between 50mph and 70mph are forecast throughout the country.

North Yorkshire Police urged motorists last night to make only essential journeys as the whole county experienced “severe” weather.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said the force had received a “high number” of weather related calls last night.

The A66 was closed after a tree fell on to the A19 and several lorries were blown over in high winds, he added.

Other major roads to be affected include the A628 Woodhead Pass, which was closed last night in both directions between the A616 near Barnsley and the A57 at Glossop, the Ouse Bridge on the M62 in East Yorkshire, and parts of the A19 in Cleveland.

Humberside Police urged motorists to take care this morning after a number of trees were brought down overnight.

But the force reported no casualties as a result of the high winds.

The Wharfedale rail line between Leeds and Ilkley was closed last night for the second time in less than a week following reports of damage to overhead cables near Menston.

One commuter train was made to return to Leeds despite being only a short distance from Guiseley Station. A passenger contacted the Yorkshire Post to say: “You can’t blame Northern Rail for the weather but their disorganised response to it just adds to the misery.”

A police spokesman said trees have been blocking roads or causing obstructions in areas of Grimsby, Hull, Bridlington, Driffield and Snaith.

He said a vehicle hit a large branch in the road in Beverley, East Yorkshire, but there were no injuries, and a brick wall collapsed in Healing, near Grimsby, blocking a pavement.

The spokesman said: “Motorists are urged to take extra care and beware of obstructions that may have blown into the road, and pedestrians are also asked to take extra care as numerous trees have blown down and more may do so before the winds calm down.”

The Humber Bridge and the M62 over the Ouse Bridge, near Howden, are both closed to high-sided vehicles.

North Yorkshire Fire Service said crews had been called out to localised flooding at a small number of homes in the Skipton area and firefighters used a boat to help rescue a barge which was in danger of overturning when it was caught in moorings on the River Ouse in central York.

The brigade said a lorry driver was taken to hospital when an HGV overturned on the A1 at Leeming and crews were called to two incidents of cars trapped in flood water - one in Acaster Malbis, near York, and the other at Embsay, near Skipton.

Aisling Creevey, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: “It’s going to be a very windy day.

“We have a cold front sweeping down across northern Britain that’s going to clear south through the morning.

“We are going to see quite a chilly day, with strong and gusty winds through much of the morning.

“There will be wind gusts of between 60 and 70mph across northern Britain, Wales and south-west England, with gusts of 80mph in exposed areas of Scotland and northern England.

“Showers will become less frequent as the day goes on and winds will gradually ease, becoming fresh and moderate overnight in most places.”

The Met Office issued yellow warnings of wind for Wales, Northern Ireland and Strathclyde today.

One of the men who died in the high winds on Tuesday was named by police as married father-of-three Christopher Hayes, 51, who was killed when a tree crushed his parked van in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

The second death was a crew member on board a tanker which was hit by a large wave off the coast of the south Devon/Cornwall border.

Pritchard-Gordon Tankers Ltd, the company which owns the tanker, would not name the Briton, but said: “Two crew members sustained injuries when struck by a wave whilst on deck, and a third was injured on attempting to assist.

“All three were taken to hospital by helicopter rescue.

“Tragically, despite receiving medical attention on board the vessel and helicopter, one of the men did not survive.”

The other two injured crew members were in a stable condition.

Southern Electric said electricity had been restored to most of the 4,000 properties affected by power cuts across its distribution area, which runs from the Isle of Wight up to Oxfordshire.

A spokesman said the problem would be completely resolved last night.

The high winds led to a series of disruptions to rush-hour train services across the country.

In Scotland, buses replaced trains between Paisley Gilmour Street and Gourock/ Wemyss Bay.

Dalmuir to Larkhall services were suspended, with replacement buses running between Motherwell and Larkhall and also between Helensburgh Central and Dumbarton Central.

On routes between Milngavie and Motherwell/Lanark, trains were unable to call at a number of stations, with replacement buses operating between Motherwell and Newton via Hamilton.

On the West Highland Line (Oban/Mallaig/Fort William) trains started from and terminated at Crianlarich, with a bus service running between Glasgow Queen Street and Crianlarich.

Crossmyloof station suffered storm damage and trains from Glasgow Central to East Kilbride and Barrhead were unable to call there.

In England, trees on the line near Huntingdon led to delays on services between London and Peterborough, while a line obstruction in Kent caused delays of up to 60 minutes between Paddock West and Strood.

A tree on the line at Micheldever in Hampshire caused rail delays in the area, while emergency engineering work near Dover Priory led to Southeastern having to replace some trains with buses.

To add to commuters’ difficulties, a signal problem near Southampton caused disruption to services run by three train companies - CrossCountry, First Great Western and South West Trains.

Overhead wire problems also caused rail disruption between Handforth and Cheadle Hulme near Manchester. Buses had to replace trains between Wilmslow and Cheadle Hulme.

Chiltern Railways had to contend with a number of trees on the line between London and Aylesbury.

This meant buses had to operate between Amersham and Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, while there were no services - nor any replacement buses - running between Aylesbury and London.

A tree on the line at Porchester in Hampshire led to train delays in the area, while another fallen tree at Wood End in the West Midlands caused delays to London Midland services between Stratford-upon-Avon and Shirley.

Further north, overhead wire problems caused disruption between Penrith North Lakes and Oxenholme Lake District. There were delays of up to 45 minutes between Carlisle and Lancaster.

At Pitsea in Essex, electrical supply problems led to delays between Shoeburyness and Laindon/Tilbury Town, while overhead wire problems led to delays to First Capital Connect services in East Anglia.

On the London Underground, there were delays on the western part of the Metropolitan line between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Watford/Amersham/Chesham due to an obstruction on the track at Moor Park.

Cheshire Police said officers have attended more than 15 incidents relating to fallen trees, branches, and debris in the road since 6am today.

A spokeswoman said: “The eastern parts of Cheshire have been particularly affected by the weather. Police and other agencies have attended reports of fallen trees in Oak Road, Prestbury, School Lane in Congleton, and Ashley Road in Mere this morning.”

In Cambridgeshire, police said more than 20 trees were brought down by strong winds overnight.

A police spokesman said: “We are working with the Highways Agency and local authorities to ensure trees and debris are removed from roads as quickly as possible.”

Essex Fire Service said it had been called out to dozens of incidents, including fallen cables and trees and dislodged television aerials.

Norfolk Fire Service was called out to several false alerts caused by high winds setting off alarms.