UK set to be battered by further gale-force storms over the weekend - The Independent

Hundreds of drivers were stranded, thousands of homes were without power and more than 100 people evacuated as winds reached more than 86mph.

Many roads were left impassable as homeowners were again forced to protect their properties as water deluged swathes of the country.

This morning the Environment Agency increased the number of flood warnings for rivers to 92 with a total of 214 less serious flood alerts in place across England and Wales.

The areas worst affected by the heavy downpours were Wales and south-west England.

But the majority of the UK was hit by the storms as they were pushed eastwards throughout the day, causing flash flooding.

While the rainfall overnight was lighter compared to earlier in the day, much of it fell on already saturated ground.

Yesterday the Met Office said some areas saw up to 60mm (5in) of rain during the day, causing further river and surface water flooding.

Last night Westonbirt had the heaviest rainfall between 6pm and midnight, reaching 22mm, while 19mm fell in Bournemouth.

The highest winds were recorded at Capel Curig in Wales reaching 86mph, but much of the UK battled with winds of 60 to 70mph during the day and throughout the night.

A spokesman for the MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said the country would be greeted with some welcome respite today, but more storms are on their way this weekend.

He said: "There will be some respite today, a little chilly with some sunshine and short showers but nothing like yesterday.

"The rain should have cleared but might linger in the south.

"But again on Saturday it will get quite stormy overnight for all of the UK, with a particular risk of high winds in the southern half of the UK.

"There will be high rainfall totals and further flooding."

He added: "All areas across the UK would have felt blustery winds and heavy rain at some point overnight but the South West and Wales had the worst of it."

Western Power yesterday said that 2,500 customers in the South West and 500 in Wales were without power because of high winds bringing down power lines, but that it was working to reconnect them as quickly as possible.

Last night north Wales became the latest area to be deluged, with the Gwynedd area worst affected.

Three children had to be rescued from Dolbadarn primary school in Llanberis by firefighters in a boat yesterday afternoon when they were prevented from leaving by high water, North Wales Fire and Rescue said.

Both roads joining Anglesey and the mainland, the A55 and the A5, were closed near Bangor after a river burst its banks.

A fire service spokeswoman said it had received more than 250 calls and appealed for people only to call "if you believe lives are at risk and not just to properties being flooded when the householders are able to move upstairs or seek shelter in neighbours".

"Roads throughout the region of south Gwynedd spreading east towards the Conwy Valley have been affected and the message from the emergency services remains the same, unless your journey is absolutely necessary do not use the roads," she added.

The gusty winds were so bad that high-sided vehicles, caravans and motorcycles were banned from using the Tamar Bridge, which connects Devon and Cornwall.

Many train services in the South West and connecting it to London Paddington were either cancelled or delayed.

People were evacuated from Billing Aquadrome campsite in Northamptonshire following flood warnings from the nearby River Nene.

Minor delays were being experienced on cross-Channel ferry crossings from the Port of Dover in Kent.

Winds gusting to force six were affecting services with P&O Ferries, DFDS/LD Lines and MyFerryLink to Calais, and DFDS Seaways to Dunkirk.

The Coastguard warned people to stay out of the water after receiving a call about a struggling canoeist spotted being dragged out to sea in near-storm force winds off Burgh Island, near Salcombe on the south Devon coast.

Despite winds of up to 73mph the canoeist was able to get himself to shore.

Those injured included an elderly pedestrian who was treated for a cut to his head after being struck by a tree, two teenage girls taken to hospital with head and shoulder injuries and a female driver in her 50s who escaped with minor injuries after he car was crushed by a falling tree trunk.

The AA said it had its busiest day for flood-related call-outs in history yesterday, with 804 requests for help, and commuters again suffered major disruption today.

Nationwide, the organisation attended around 4,600 breakdowns by noon today, with up to 900 incidents being reported every hour. It expected to attend up to 13,000 for the day, compared with around 9,500 on an average Thursday.