Motorists facing hazardous conditions as winds batter UK

Published on Wednesday 12 March 2008 09:28

BRITAIN was battered by strong winds again today, disrupting travel, causing injuries and forcing racing to be abandoned at the Cheltenham Festival.

Parts of Scotland were hit by gusts of up to 70mph, the Forth Road Bridge was closed to double-decker buses, and towns across southern Scotland were preparing for high winds and possible heavy snows as the storms continued to spread north of the Border.

Forecasters predicted that the country faced strong winds, bringing heavy rain, snow and "temporary blizzard conditions" in southern areas.

And they warned that the country could face yet more disruption to transport and power lines, as well as damage to buildings and trees.

Exposed parts of western Scotland saw the highest winds today. Some ferry services between Scotland and Northern Ireland were cancelled due to the weather.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: "We're seeing gusts of around 70mph across southern Scotland and parts of the west coast, but the rest of the country is not as badly affected. In Edinburgh, winds have barely been above the 40mph mark and although we expect the conditions to be slightly worse today, it will be nowhere near as bad as the southern storms. However, there could be some gale force winds across the Forth and some snow on higher ground across the Lothians and Borders area."

South of the Border, several major roads were closed due to traffic accidents caused by the high winds – including the M6 Thelwall Viaduct, which was blocked both ways after seven lorries overturned. And a woman was injured when a lamppost fell on to her car in high winds in Carrington, Greater Manchester, last night.

She was taken to Trafford General Hospital with whiplash and minor cuts and bruises.

A lorry driver escaped injury when his truck was blown over on the southbound M6, near Lancaster.

And this afternoon's meeting at the Cheltenham Festival was abandoned due to the weather.

More than 55,000 punters were set to descend on the Gloucestershire racecourse, which suffered severe storm damage earlier in the week. All six races due to take place this afternoon were being rescheduled for Thursday and Friday.

Airports across the country have also had to cancel flights due to strong winds sweeping across England.

Gareth Harvey, weather forecaster with MeteoGroup UK, said much of Scotland had escaped the worst of the winds.

He said: "The strongest winds have been in Dumfries and Galloway, Argyll and Bute and the Inner Hebrides.

"The worst of it looks as though it is very slowly subsiding now.

"I think Scotland has probably avoided the worst of it. The strongest gusts of wind are really across Northern Ireland and northern England."

Forecasters said the weather is likely to calm down later in the week, although rain is predicted and it could turn cold at the weekend.