Abandon travel: Chaos hits as 100mph winds batter Britain
THE MET Office has issued a rare red weather warning for parts of the UK and advised people to stay indoors, as stormy weather is expected to batter the UK for the rest of this week.
The Environment Agency warned that the Thames could rise to its highest level in 60 years, while in Wales a wind speed of 105mph was recorded yesterday.
Around 60,000 people have been left without power and widespread disruption was reported on rail networks, with more delays expected today and Friday as train companies battle to clear tracks and repair damaged overhead lines.
The west coast mainline was closed yesterday evening after overhead power lines caught fire and caused damage to the station roof at Crewe, while Southeastern trains in Kent were heavily disrupted and South West Trains warned passengers to check before they travel, after flooding closed a number of routes along the Thames estuary.
And passengers hoping to travel on Virgin Trains were warned via Twitter to “ABANDON TRAVEL” as high winds hit routes, causing the operator to cancel some trains out of Euston and impose 50mph speed restrictions along some lines.