Wales suffers floods and power cuts as wind and rain hits

Heavy rain and strong winds have battered parts of Wales, leaving homes flooded and others without power.

There are nine flood warnings in place for mid and north Wales, including parts of Bala town centre in Gwynedd.

Homes in Conwy county were flooded, including Betws-y-Coed and Llanrwst, where three people had to be rescued from a van stuck in flood water.

Earlier, more than 700 properties in south Wales and Ruthin, Denbighshire, suffered power cuts.

Deiniol Tegid, a spokesman for Natural Resources Wales, said: "The River Conwy is at its highest level ever recorded, so yes it's quite bad in Llanrwst at the moment and we're asking people to be very careful in that area and not to venture into flood water and please don't take any risks."

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said about 40 properties had flooded in Parc yr Eryr, Llanrwst.

North Wales Police urged motorists to avoid the area, after reports that vehicles were becoming stuck in flood water.

Flooding closed the A470 Bridge Street in the town, and the B5106 on the opposite side of the River Conwy at Trefriw.

The A470 is closed in both directions between the A494 for Dolgellau and the A458 Mallwyd roundabout due to a landslip.

Police said they had also closed the A5 at Corwen in Denbighshire, approaching the bridge over the River Dyfrdwy.

Betws-y-Coed resident Tamzyn Lawrence said: "This time we're just trying to keep it out of the houses and trying to force it into the drain that feeds the river.

"It's a good neighbourhood - everybody comes together in times like this when they're needed."

Following the wind an rain, the Met Office has issued an ice warning, which is in effect from 21:00 GMT on Saturday until Sunday morning.

This lasts throughout the night and covers Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd and Powys.

People have been advised to check before travelling as the weather has affected some roads and public transport with both StenaLine and Irish Ferries cancelling services to and from Ireland. Some rail services also faced disruption.

North Wales Police tweeted Llanrwst and Tal-y-Cafn bridges were closed due to heavy flooding, while conditions were "difficult" on the A55 in the Tal-y-Bont area with motorists asked to avoid junctions 11 and 12.

Driving conditions were also said to be deteriorating in the Blackcat area of the A470.

This comes after there was 1.6in (43mm) of rain in 12 hours at Capel Curig in Snowdonia on Friday, according to BBC forecasters.

There was also flooding in Machynlleth, Powys, after heavy rain led to the River Dyfi bursting its banks.