Storm Eunice: All Shropshire trains cancelled as strong winds hit county

An amber weather warning for wind, which carried a danger to life message, was in place across Shropshire and Mid Wales on Friday as gusts were forecast to reach 70mph.

Transport for Wales decided not to run any trains and West Midlands Railway is not running between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton, meaning Shropshire was left without a train service on a day when Shropshire and Mid Wales was issued with an amber weather warning - which carried a danger to life message - with gusts predicted to reach 70mph.

In its amber warning for the region - due to last up to 9pm - the Met Office says: "There is a good chance that flying debris could result in a danger to life. Damage to buildings and homes is likely, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down.

"Roads, bridges and railway lines are likely to close, with delays and cancellations to bus, train, ferry services and flights. There is a good chance that power cuts, possibly prolonged, could occur and possibly affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.

"It is likely there will be falling branches and some uprooted trees."

Traffic Wales closed the Ceiriog and Dee Viaducts on the A5 and A483, which link Shropshire with the North West. It meant 15-mile diversions through Llangollen.

Trees were brought down and blocked roads across the county, from Market Drayton to Telford to Bridgnorth. Emergency services and council teams were scrambled to clear the debris and make roads accessible again.

In Shropshire many schools were closed due to a combination of storm warnings, staff shortages and pre-arranged staff development days.

The St Martins all age school near Oswestry was closed along with the following secondary schools: Church Stretton Academy; Lacon Childs, Much Wenlock; The Marches, Oswestry; Lakelands, Ellesmere; Mary Webb, Pontesbury; Oldbury Wells, Bridgnorth; Meole Brace, Shrewsbury; and the county's TBMSS education centres.

Primary schools closed include: Brown Clee; Woodside, Wem; Trefonen; The Meadows, Oswestry; Our Lady Roman Catholic School, Oswestry.

Across the border all schools in Powys, Wrexham and Denbighshire were closed.

The Environment Agency issued eight flood alerts across Shropshire and the borders including the length of the River Severn. Barriers are in place in Frankwell Car Park in Shewsbury, which is closed, and Bewdley, while experts are monitoring the rivers levels at Ironbridge.

Levels are currently a metre lower than those of two years ago when major floods hit the county. Flood alerts are also in place on the Lower Teme, the Tern and Perry, the Rea River and Rea, Cound and Ledwyche Brooks as well as the Dee catchment taking in Whitchurch.

In the West Midlands 92,320 customers of Western Power Distribution's network lost supply with some 18,000 waiting to be restored at 5pm on Friday.

WPD apologised for the inconvenience, saying conditions remain extremely difficult with incidents of trees falling near to its teams as they were working.

In Shropshire areas affected included 101 customers in Craven Arms, and 27 in Cleobury Mortimer. Areas south of the county were more badly affected.

WPD operations director Graham Halladay said: “Please be assured that we are working extremely hard to restore supplies to all of our customers and our dedicated teams will keep going until everyone is restored. I would like to pay tribute to them – they are working long hours in difficult conditions.”

In Wales there are flood alerts on the Upper Sever and Vyrnwy catchments along with the Lower Dee.

Telford & Wrekin Council announced on Friday evening that Abraham Darby Leisure Centre had been closed due to storm damage.

"The centre will remain closed until Tuesday to allow us to further assess the damage," the council said. "Sorry for any inconvenience that has been caused and we will update you further as soon as we can."

National Trust properties have not opened and town councils across the county have shut many of their parks and open spaces, with Shropshire Council urging people not to visit its open spaces where there could be a risk of trees falling. Love Telford festival, set to honour the town’s arts and culture scene, has also been postponed until March 19.

A spokesperson for the National Trust in the Midlands, said: “Due to the forecast for high winds and stormy conditions many of our places will be closed on Friday, with post-storm checks likely to be needed into Saturday. We advise those planning a visit over the next few days to check our website before travelling.”

Chirk Castle announced that it closed on Friday due to forecast high winds over 50mph, but staff expect it be open again on Saturday following a morning safety check.

Attingham Park, near Shrewsbury, has also shut. The team has been monitoring the situation and, once it is safe to do so, will prepare the site for re-opening.

The car parks at Comer Woods, Dudmaston and Benthall Hall have been closed too.

English Heritage sites Boscobel House, Goodrich Castle, and Stokesay Castle weren’t due to open anyway, but were planning to be open for the half-term break from Saturday through to the following weekend.

An English Heritage spokesperson said: "We’re keeping a close eye on the weather at the moment to see what happens and so this may change. Visitors should check our website before travelling."

Volunteering groups at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, in Craven Arms, and tomorrow's volunteer work day at the mere in Ellesmere have been cancelled.

Staying inside was the message from West Mercia Search and Rescue who said their general advice would be to not travel unless absolutely necessary as there’ll be plenty of tree damage and risk of cross-winds.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service says: "A red weather warning has been issued to the south of us and Shropshire is currently under an Amber warning for wind. Consider if your journey is essential before setting out."

Further south two rare red warnings were put in place, one for South West England and South Wales, the other for London and the South East.

The storm ripped off part of the roof of London's O2 Arena, while planes were filmed struggling to land at London's Heathrow airport.