Extreme Christmas weather in Britain

Two die as severe weather hits UK Christmas getaway

Two people have died as storms sweep across the UK.

BBC

23 December, 2013

A man's body was pulled from the River Rothay in Cumbria by rescuers searching for a man who had been seen falling in.

In Gwynedd, north-west Wales, a woman's body was found in a stream in full flow near her house.

The deaths come as gale-force winds and heavy rain hit the Christmas getaway for road, rail, air and sea passengers. Fallen overhead power lines left thousands without electricity.

Among those most affected by the severe weather conditions:

As many as 27,000 customers were left without electricity in southern England, Southern Electric said, with 13,000 in and around Aldershot alone. Others were without power in Oxford; Poole in Dorset; and Petersfield in Hampshire

Some 3,000 Western Power Distribution customers in Cornwall and a further 2,000 in other parts of the South West were left without electricity; by Monday evening some 800 were still without power.

The Environment Agency issued a "severe" flood warning - meaning "danger to life" - in Weymouth, Dorset, where the public were advised to avoid the "extremely dangerous" Preston Beach area.

Gusts of 87mph were recorded at Capel Curig in Conwy, North Wales, and disruption has been caused across Wales

Northern Ireland will face some of the worst weather in the UK on Christmas Eve, with warnings of winds of up to 90mph

UK high streets reported a 6% fall in shopper numbers on last year

The rivers in Cumbria were "suffering an excess of water" because of the rain,Inspector Chris Wright of Cumbria Police said.

The search of the River Rothay began when a member of the public saw someone fall into the water at 14.25 GMT, and the man's body was found about an hour later. He has not yet been identified.

"It would be fair to say that the river in its current state did not assist the rescue operation. It was fast flowing, and a lot more water than normal, so yes it's fair to say that the weather contributed to the problem," said Insp Wright.

In a separate incident, police in Bethesda, Gwynedd, are investigating the death of a woman whose body was recovered in water 50m from her house. It was thought the woman had left her house to check a water supply.

"It's a small stream that runs off the mountain - about half a metre wide and three-quarters of a metre deep - but it was in full flow," Paul Smith from the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team told BBC Wales.

Heavy rain and high winds caused disruption across Wales on Monday.

'Serious storm'

The Met Office has amber "be prepared" alerts for rain in Wales, south-west England and London and south-east England for Monday evening and Christmas Eve morning.

And it has amber warnings for wind for parts of the UK on Christmas Eve, including Northern Ireland, the east of England, London and the South East, and north-west Scotland.

BBC forecaster Peter Gibbs warned winds of 80mph would hit the south coast on Tuesday, while 70mph gusts were expected inland.

He said the worst weather on Tuesday would be in Scotland and Northern Ireland while more bad weather was on the way for Thursday and Friday.

"People might get there for Christmas, but they might have problems getting back later in the week," he added.

By Monday evening the wind had brought down more than 60 trees on train lines, Network Rail said, while mud-slides and flooding also caused delays.

Staff had had to clear trampolines and sheds from the lines, the rail company added.

Dozens of train operators across England, Wales and Scotland have delayed or cancelled services after speed restrictions were imposed on many routes, and many services were finishing earlier than normal.

Passengers travelling on Monday evening were urged to travel as early as possible and were advised to check the National Rail Enquiries website or speak to their train company.

On a ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Bilbao a passenger had to be airlifted to hospital after falling and injuring their neck.

"A lot of us thought the ferry was going over", Catriona Koris told the BBC from on board the ship.

The captain had anchored off France while carrier company Brittany Ferries cancelled its Portsmouth to Caen and Plymouth to Roscoff crossings, a spokesman said.

The Environment Agency issued flood warnings across much of England and Wales, as well as the severe warning in Weymouth.

By Monday afternoon there were more than 50 flood warnings, indicating that immediate action is required, for south-west England, and others in the north-west, north-east and Anglian areas.

The agency warned people not to try to drive through floodwater.

It warned that driving into just 30cm of water was enough to carry a car away, and advised people to heed warnings and move valuables upstairs if living in a "flood risk" area.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued several flood warnings for Tayside, as well as alerts for other areas.