HURRICANE-force winds hit Britain last night, creating havoc as people battled their way around flooded road and fallen trees. Houses and businesses were swamped by the sudden deluge, with sandbags and flood boards used as makeshift protection. The south coast bore the brunt of the 80mph storms and lashing rain - caused by a severe depression in the Bay of Biscay - as coastal towns were flooded. Two Virgin trains were stranded after waves crashed into them.
The 10.03am Glasgow to Penzance train was hit and the 16.25pm Plymouth to York express. Passengers were evacuated by buses at Dawlish in Devon. In the Cornish village of Flushing, near Falmouth, about a dozen homes were evacuated as 18 inches of water poured into properties. A spokesman for Falmouth Coastguard said: "Conditions were very dangerous." In Looe, the sea level had risen so high the lifeboat crew could not open the doors to launch their raft. And police were on hand to stop people getting too close to the waves in Penzance and at Porthleven on the Lizard Peninsula. The Scilly Isles were battered and cross-Channel ferry sailings were cancelled. |