UK weather: Storm Brendan brings rain and 80mph gusts

Storm Brendan has hit the UK, bringing rain and gusts of more than 80mph to parts of the country.

The Met Office issued a 14-hour yellow warning for wind, covering Northern Ireland, the west coasts of England, Wales and Scotland, south-west England and north-east Scotland.

Seven flights due to land at Gatwick were diverted to other UK airports on Monday evening.

Trains and ferry services have also been delayed or cancelled.

Gatwick Airport said two Wizz Air flights, four easyJet services and one Norwegian Air flight were diverted, amid gusts of 40mph.

Meanwhile, an easyJet flight from Edinburgh landed at Birmingham.

In Northern Ireland, thousands of homes have lost power and roads have been shut.

In Scotland, ferry routes covering much of the west coast as well as the Northern Isles were cancelled or disrupted.

In Wales, more than 1,000 properties were left without power, and a school was closed due to a power failure after a tree fell on power lines and also hit a car at Bontnewydd, Gwynedd.

In England, South Western Railway said all lines were blocked due to a fallen tree blocking the railway between Yeovil Junction and Exeter St Davids. Disruption is expected until 20:00, said SWR.

Travellers on the Great Western Railway line between Plymouth and Penzance were also warned of delays because of a speed restriction due to high winds.

All Skybus flights between Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly were cancelled on Monday, with a warning that gale-force winds could see more disruption on Tuesday.

On Monday morning rush hour, trains running through Preston station were suspended after the roof was damaged. Services were later returning to normal, Northern Rail said. The wind warning lasts until midnight, with turbulent weather set to continue into the evening and heavy rain sweeping eastwards.

The Met Office's yellow weather warning for wind - meaning travel disruption is likely - is in place until midnight.

It covers Northern Ireland, Wales, the South West and the west coasts of England and Scotland, as well as north-east Scotland.

It warned people should expect travel delays, large waves along coastal roads and sea fronts and power cuts.

A gust of 87.5mph was recorded on South Uist in the outer Hebrides, while a 76mph gust hit Capel Curig in Wales. and in Northern Ireland the highest gust was 63mph at Magilligan.

Northern Ireland was among the first parts of the UK to be battered by the storm.

About 2,000 customers remain without electricity and power has been restored to 6,400 Northern Ireland Electricity users, after damage to the network.

Roads have been closed including a stretch of the Belfast Road in Carrickfergus after part of the sea wall has collapsed.

At Belfast International Airport - where there was some disruption to flights - passengers were stuck on one plane for two hours after wind speeds were too high to disembark.

BBC presenter Holly Hamilton, who was on board, said: "The captain announced we would be unable to disembark as the wind speed was at 46 knots and it needed to be a maximum of 40 to allow the steps to be brought out to allow passengers off.

"Everyone understood why it was necessary as the plane itself was swaying from side to side when we weren't even in motion.

"Most people were just relieved we'd landed safely as it was a pretty choppy landing."

Meanwhile, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issued 28 flood warnings and 16 flood alerts around the country.

"Combined with naturally high tides next week, the sustained winds will create an unusual and dangerous combination of tide, storm surge and inshore waves," said Sepa.

And there are eight flood warnings for England.

On the Isle of Man, roads were closed, winds brought down trees, and flights and ferries were cancelled.

And a bin lorry was blown over, with the driver needing medical treatment.

Three more yellow weather warnings are in place for Tuesday - including one for wind across England and Wales from 12:00 GMT until midnight and another for snow and ice in northern Scotland.

The third warning, for heavy rain, covers south-east England from 13:00 on Tuesday until 9:00 on Wednesday.

Storm Brendan's name was picked by the Irish meteorological service Met Éireann.

In December, Storm Atiyah swept into the UK, leading to power cuts and travel disruption in Wales and the South West.

This year's storm names have already been chosen with Ciara the name for the next storm.

Have you been affected by Storm Brendan? Share your experiences by emailing [email protected].

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: