Storm Darragh is battering the UK

The story so far

Flights and train services have been cancelled amid high winds and flooding while trees were uprooted and travel plans were thrown into chaos as Storm Barragh battered the north west. One man died in Lancashire after a tree fell onto his van. The man, who was in his 40s, was driving his Citroen van on the A59 dual carriageway near Preston when the tree fell on to his vehicle.

He was left with serious injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Another tree toppled over in the high winds outside a home on Gravel Lane in Wilmslow, falling over a pavement, through fencing and on top of a car parked in the driveway. Nobody was hurt.

At Manchester Airport, scores of flights were delayed or cancelled and, amid terrible conditions, a number of flights had to perform 'go-arounds' after failing to land on the first attempt. One passenger flight from Poland had to divert to Glasgow after the captain made two failed attempts to land at Manchester Airport[1]. Ryanair flight FR4095, operated by Buzz, departed Gdansk in Poland just before 2pm central European time, just as the storm started to gather pace here in Britain.

By the time the flight was making it's final approach at Manchester Airport at around 3.30pm UK time, the weather was particularly bad. The captain made one attempt to land and, after making another approach also, aborted the second approach, according to radar pictures on AirNet.radar. The flight was diverted to Glasgow Prestwick where it landed safely at 4.20pm.

Manchester City were forced to bus back from the capital after drawing their game at Crystal Palace in London when their flight home was also cancelled. Millions were told to stay indoors as Storm Darragh battered other parts of the UK on Saturday. A rare Met Office red warning for wind[2] was issued for parts of Wales and the south west which came into force in the early hours.

It meant dangerous weather was expected and people were urged to take action to keep themselves and others safe. The warning, which has led to the cancellation of events in Greater Manchester and beyond including Christmas attractions[3] and the Merseyside derby, was in place from 3am and ended at 11am on Saturday. The Met Office warned of "damaging winds" with gusts of 93mph recorded in parts of the UK.

National Rail warned travellers to stay at home if possible after flooding and high winds caused cancellations and delays across the network. Northern put on replacement bus services for its cancellations. Many West Coast Main Line services to and from the south were also cancelled or delayed.

The storm caused considerable damage to the famous pier at Llandudno, with estimates suggesting the repair could cost as much as GBP250,000. The attraction's General Manager, Paul Williams, said: "Overnight one of the kiosks, one of the original ones, which is roughly 148-years-old was ripped up. It's the first time in its history that it has been tipped to one side.

The ice cream stand at the end of the pier has been ripped up and it went into the sea. and there are about a thousand pieces washed up on the other side of the bay.

"The roof has come off the toilet and there's real fear that we'll potentially lose the bar and cafe down the end as well."

References

1. ^ Manchester Airport (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
2. ^ rare Met Office red warning for wind (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
3. ^ which has led to the cancellation of events in Greater Manchester and beyond including Christmas attractions (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)