Storm Ciara: Trees down and roads flooded as Shropshire hit hard

Winds of 65mph were recorded by the Met Office at Shawbury as a tree crashed down onto a car in Cruckton, near Shrewsbury. Julie Butler said it happened at about 7.30am.

"I woke up and everything was OK, and I was getting ready to go out and the tree fell onto my Honda Accord Estate," she said.

"It's been written off completely. The tree smashed straight through the roof.

"Luckily no-one was injured, no-one was inside. I've been on the phone to the insurers, sorting it out."

Police in Oswestry said trees and power lines were down in Rhyn Lane, St Martin's, while flooding has closed the B5069 Gobowen Road, between Oswestry and the Gobowen roundabout.

Oswestry SNT tweeted: "We are recommending only essential trips out today, we already have numerous power lines and trees downs across Oswestry and the rest of the county, flooding is also taking place. We will try to update you where possible but demand is high so please bear with us and stay safe."

In Shrewsbury, part of the roof from an industrial unit blew off and damaged a residential property in Ambleside, and the Quarry Pool was closed for the rest of the day as parts of the roof became loose. Priory Road was cordoned off for public safety.

In Ambleside, a family now have a hole in their roof after roofing from a nearby building flew off in the storm and smashed into their garden, and part of their house. But luckily no-one was hurt.

A teenager who lives at the house said: "There's an industrial unit opposite us which has this huge felt roof. I'd seen it flapping in the wind before, so it looked a bit loose. But the storm was obviously too much as it came blowing off and into our garden at about 8.30am.

"It made a hole in our roof, water came in and that made the ceiling in my room collapse.

"No-one was injured luckily. And we've had someone come out to look at fixing it too."

See also:

• UK flights, trains and ferries disrupted as Storm Ciara hits

Trains between Shrewsbury and Leominster were affected after a tree came down on the track. Services were resumed after it was removed.

A number of properties in the TF2 area of Telford were without electricity, with Western Power Distribution working to restore supplies by 4pm.

Trees were reported to have come down on the A4, with the road partially blocked at Marshbrook.

Police in Ludlow said a fallen tree had blocked the A49 near the Ludlow Food Centre, while Market Drayton police said a fallen tree had closed the road at Lostford Manor. A fallen tree also blocked Leigh Road in Minsterley.

Near Market Drayton a car overturned after hitting standing water. Police said there was lots of standing water and debris on roads including on the A41. They advised travelling only if it is essential to do so.

In Newport, police reported a fallen tree had completely blocked a section of Longford Road, between Moorfield Lane and the Edgmond Road junction, whiole in Shrewsbury, a fallen tree was blocking Otley Road near Percy Thrower's Garden Centre.

National Trust property Attingham Park, near Shrewsbury, was closed to visitors today because of the storm. A statement said: "Due to the high winds today we have taken the decision to close Attingham Park to visitors. We are hoping to reopen tomorrow morning once the park has been checked by our outdoors team."

Today's Telford Tigers 2 away fixture at Widnes Wild has been postponed due to the adverse weather conditions, but the club said the Telford Tigers 1 game against MK Lightning was still going ahead this evening.

This fixture will be rescheduled and details will be announced once a suitable date has been arranged

Meanwhile, flood barriers were put up in Shrewsbury on Saturday as the storm bore down on the country.

Storm Ciara on Twitter:

Flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected were in place for the River Vyrnwy at Maesbrook and Melverley, while flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible were in place for the Ledwyche Brook and River Rea, Lower Teme, Rea Brook and Cound Brook, River Lugg North of Leominster, River Severn in Shropshire, River Worfe, the Severn Vyrnwy confluence, Tern and Perry Catchments and Upper Teme.

Forecasters have warned flying debris could lead to injuries or endanger lives.

Officials also warned of possible damage to buildings and the chance of power cuts.

The Met Office has an amber warning for wind in place for much of England and Wales from 8am until 9pm, while an amber warning for rain applies to parts of Scotland.

Yellow weather warnings cover the whole UK, with the heaviest rain expected over high ground, where 50-70mm is expected widely with as much as 100mm in a few locations.

West Mercia Police said: "If you do have to go out today please take extra care. If driving reduce your speed and keep your distance from the vehicle in front. Drive carefully and watch out for any debris."

National Rail said: "Storm Ciara will disrupt train services across the country today. Some train operators are advising not to travel."

West Midlands Railway has imposed a 50mph speed restriction across all networks on Sunday due to gusts of up to 80mph.

It said services would be reduced and urged passengers so leave extra time to complete journeys and to check the service before they travel at wmr.uk/plan

This afternoon West Midlands Trains said that following a number of storm-related incidents across the network, both it and Northwestern Railway were advising passengers not to travel today.

It said: "Incidents including flooding and fallen trees have led to the temporary closure of a number of sections of track across the country.

"The impact of these closures is causing extensive disruption to journeys, particularly around Birmingham New Street, and passengers are advised not to travel.

"As of 2.30pm, trains are not able to run on the following routes:

• Northampton-Birmingham

• Birmingham-Wolverhampton-Crewe

• Cross City North (West Midlands)

• Coventry-Leamington Spa

• Crewe-Liverpool

"Services will continue to run where possible to ensure as many passengers as possible already on the network can complete their journeys.

"Tickets purchased for travel today will be accepted on WMR and LNR services tomorrow (Monday)."

Transport for Wales has already cancelled trains on the Heart of Wales line, the Cambrian line and between Shrewsbury and Birmingham International which were due to run on Sunday.

The following lines will not have a TfW service operating today:

• Wales & Cross Borders

• Heart of Wales

• Cambrian Line (West of Shrewsbury)

• Shrewsbury-Birmingham International (West Midlands Trains' hourly service still running).

Avanti West Coast is not running trains north of Preston today until further notice due to the impact of Storm Ciara.

Dozens of domestic and international flights have been cancelled as Storm Ciara batters the UK and Ireland with heavy rain and wind.

Heathrow Airport said it had agreed with its airline partners to “consolidate” Sunday’s flight schedule in a bid to minimise the number of cancelled flights.

British Airways said in a statement: “Like all airlines operating into and out of the UK tomorrow, we are expecting to be impacted by the adverse weather conditions across parts of the UK on Sunday.”

The airline said it was offering rebooking options for customers on domestic and European flights flying to and from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City on Sunday.

Virgin Atlantic has posted a list of cancelled flights on its website. It said it was “contacting affected customers and rearranging their travel arrangements”.

The Environment Agency has issued 22 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected and immediate action is required, and 149 alerts, indicating flooding is possible.

Today's Manchester City home match against West Ham has been postponed due to “extreme and escalating weather conditions”, City announced.