Storm Eunice: Roofs ripped off and trees downed across South West

Widespread damage has been caused by Storm Eunice across the South West with wind speeds of more than 80mph.

Several roofs have been ripped off buildings, with multiple trees falling across roads and some onto vehicles.

A Met Office yellow warning for wind remains in place for Devon and Cornwall, meaning there there is a "small chance that some roads and bridges could close".

Across the two counties more than 50,000 homes are without power.

Western Power Distribution (WPD) said more than 23,000 homes in Cornwall and more than 30,000 homes in Devon were without power.

Cornwall Councillor Martyn Alvey said 5,000 of the Cornish properties without power were lived in by people classified as vulnerable.

He said: "Our major concern is supporting those people who are without power, and are likely to be so well into tomorrow".

WPD expects to have power restored to "almost everybody" by Saturday evening, he added.

The council said it is taking steps to ensure people affected are warm enough, and asked that people check on any neighbours they know to be potentially vulnerable.

The authority's contractors Cormac had been dealing with 150 fallen trees, he said.

Glenn Shuttleworth, Devon and Cornwall Police control room supervisor, tweeted that it had been the "busiest shift I've experienced", with more than 1,000 999 calls.

A major incident was declared in Cornwall, with an emergency centre set up at County Hall in Truro.

Several roads have been blocked by fallen trees and the roofs of Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station, Bude Leisure Centre and Tolvaddon Fire Station are among those to have been damaged.

The RNLI said nobody was injured but the building had been evacuated and the lifeboat is currently "off service".

Sam Smart of the neighbouring Smart Surf School said the people of Sennen Cove were "especially sad" for the station, which has been evacuated, because of their respect for the local area.

He said: "The people of Sennen Cove are generally used to the storms, to be honest, but we're a bit shocked with the power of the wind this time around."

Ian James, traffic manager at Devon County Council, warned drivers to beware of "challenging conditions" on Friday evening, with hail in some places and trees blocking roads.

"The main message is to stay safe and only travel if it is essential," he said.

Trains were cancelled in Devon and Cornwall and Network Rail said there would not be any services on the main line until midday on Saturday.

Services on branch lines could be cancelled until Sunday, it said.

In Ernesettle, Plymouth, the roof of the River View supported housing complex was stripped away by high winds and landed in nearby gardens.

A spokesperson for Aster Group, which runs the complex, said they were "deeply concerned" by the situation and working with the local authority and emergency services to rehome residents.

The spokesperson said: "Colleagues from our customer services team are on site providing reassurance to those affected and we'll continue to work closely with our partners to ensure suitable temporary accommodation and support is available to every customer."

In Bude the winds have taken a section of the roof off at Bude Leisure Centre.

A spokesperson for GLL, the leisure centre operator, said customers and staff were immediately evacuated, and nobody was injured.

Also in Bude, Kai Page and Jowan Ferries filmed a large, old tree falling in the town centre.

Mr Page said: "The tree has been there for as long as I have been here, all my life and all of a sudden it's just gone."

He added: "It was crazy - it was such a loud bang as well that we didn't really expect."

Tom Cox, 25, was working in Mountain Warehouse when he heard the tree coming down.

He said: "Every Christmas they put giant baubles up - it's quite a big landmark and it's really sad to see it on the ground."

In Westward Ho!, north Devon, the wind caused significant damage to some buildings and caused flying debris in the streets.

The Rod and Line pub in Tideford, east Cornwall opened in candlelight on Friday night.

Landlady Jo Lake-Jones said: "The only thing I can do is sell beer, but I've lost a lot of my Friday evening trade and because they are saying the electric is not coming on until 6pm tomorrow, most of my Saturday trade as well."

RNLI lifeguard Tom Bolt said people needed to take the warnings seriously.

"I would not recommend people go on cliff tops and get close to the sea, always watch from the distance," he said.

"Please do not hesitate to call 999 or ring the coastguard if anyone is in danger, however, people should not enter the water in the first place."

In St Agnes, on the north Cornwall coast, Nicola said she had been without power for a "good few hours".

"I think one of the trees has come down and cut us off.

"We've got a little gas cooker that we have in our van so we've got that to make tea and coffee," she said.

Paignton Zoo in Devon said it was closing on Saturday and Sunday to repair damage caused by falling trees and it hoped to reopen on Monday.

Steve Cottey spent the day helping people around east Devon repair or take down storm-damaged fences.

"It's been an eventful day," he said.

Analysis: David Braine, BBC Spotlight weather presenter

The storm has now passed but will take until 21:00 to ease down in terms of wind speed.

We may have avoided coastal flooding for this morning's high tides, but this evening's spring tides are higher and with continued gale force winds from the West/North West there are still several coastal flood warnings in force for tonight.

The damaging gusts of wind will continue this afternoon and gradually moderate by this evening with an amber warning in force until 21:00, with potential gusts of 60-70mph.

Another area of low pressure will arrive tomorrow bringing some heavy rain and continued westerly strong winds, with gusts to 60mph.

Ainsley Bird, a specialist rescue adviser with Devon and Somerset Fire Service, said the service has "special arrangements" with other responders in the event of an emergency call.

"We've got crews available to undertake any tasks that come in. We are working with Mountain Rescue and the police to do a unified approach to calls that we have."

The Environment Agency has issued a number of flood warnings and flood alerts for Devon and Cornwall.

All scheduled flights from Cornwall Airport Newquay on Friday were cancelled along with those from Exeter Airport to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast.

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