Weather brings 8-mile jams as 'last lorry' blocks bridge

FOURTEEN people were airlifted from a ferry stranded in the Irish Sea last night as strong winds battered the UK, bringing travel misery for thousands of commuters.

Helicopters were scrambled to rescue four passengers and ten crew from the stricken Riverdance, a roll-on roll-off ferry, which was listing at 45 degrees in 23ft high waves and 70mph gales.

Nine crew members stayed on board to try to restart the ship's engines, but it ran aground on the North Shore of Blackpool beach at about 11pm.

The rescue operation came 12 hours after a lorry was blown over on the Forth Road Bridge, closing the road just before the morning rush-hour and causing eight-mile tailbacks.

Gales of up to 80mph also lashed the west coast of Scotland, forcing the cancellation of flights and ferries, while snow in the north shut roads and several schools.

A 45-year-old lorry driver died on the M6 near Tebay, Cumbria, when his vehicle overturned in gusts of up to 70mph.

In Birmingham, an 11-month-old girl was taken to hospital after strong winds knocked her and her pushchair into a lake. The port of Dover in Kent was closed for part of the day by gusts of up to 60mph, causing disruption to cross-channel services.

In Wales, some 1,000 homes were left without power.

The Riverdance ran into trouble eight miles west of Fleetwood, while making the journey from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland.

Mark Clark, of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said the passengers were being airlifted to Blackpool airport, adding: "The weather out there is horrendous at the moment."

He said the ship issued a mayday call at 7:30pm and 90 minutes later several helicopters had begun trying to winch the people to safety.

It is understood a freak wave hit the cargo and passenger ferry, which is owned by Seatruck Ferries, causing cars on the deck to shift to one side.

The Riverdance makes twice-daily crossings between Heysham and Warrenpoint. Its crew comprised four Britons and 15 Poles.

The ship got into difficulties over a bank known as Shell Flat, which causes powerful banking waves.

A spokesman for the RNLI, which was involved in the rescue mission, said: "The conditions are treacherous, with a north-westerly wind blowing at force nine to ten and very high seas.

"The lifeboats are standing by until we know the passengers have been winched off and everyone on board is safe."

Earlier in the day, the Forth Road Bridge was closed northbound and one southbound lane was open only to cars for nearly five hours, causing tailbacks from Fife.

Queues of traffic were also diverted around via the Kincardine Bridge to the west. Some drivers said it had taken four hours to travel between Edinburgh and Fife.

The overturned lorry, which was hit by a 68mph gust of wind, had been the last to cross the bridge before it was closed to high-sided vehicles at 6am.

The vehicle, operated by Kelso-based Olivers Transport, was blown on to the central reservation one minute after warning signs were switched on. The driver escaped unhurt.

Barry Colford, the Forth Estuary Transport Authority's depute general manager, said: "Because of the speed at which the weather changed, there is little that could have been done to prevent it happening."

Meanwhile, a woman was injured in an eight-vehicle pile-up on the M77 at Fenwick in Ayrshire, while the Erskine Bridge over the Clyde was closed to lorries. In Aberdeenshire, heavy snow and fallen trees caused problems for drivers, with the A93 Perth-Braemar road closed at the Glenshee ski centre.

Snow also affected several sections of the A9 between Stirling and Inverness, including near Auchterarder, and around Tomatin and Slochd.

Gergask and Stratherrick primary schools were closed near Inverness.

The roof of St Clement's Church in Aberdeen was ripped off by the winds, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Fallen trees also blocked roads in south-west Scotland.

Caledonian MacBrayne cancelled sailings on 18 of its 25 west coast ferry routes and sailings on two other routes were disrupted.

Flights to the Hebrides and other west coast airports were severely affected. Loganair cancelled services between Glasgow and Barra, Benbecula, Islay, Tiree and Campbeltown. A Ryanair flight between Belfast and Prestwick had to be diverted to Edinburgh, while several other Glasgow-Heathrow flights were delayed.

Last night First ScotRail said that a number of services had been disrupted in the west coast network.


WORSE ON THE WAY AS HIGH WINDS SWEEP IN BRINGING ARCTIC CHILL AND BLIZZARDS

SCOTLAND has been warned to batten down the hatches today as winds gusting up to 90mph sweep in blizzards from the north.

Forecasters said up to 4in of snow could fall in frequent and heavy showers, with twice that depth on higher ground.

Roads are likely to be badly affected and schools closed in the north, which is expected to take the brunt of the onslaught.

Pat Boyle, the Met Office's adviser for Scotland, said: "The morning rush-hour could be quite nasty and the winds will not ease off until much later on."

She said that winds were expected to reach between 50mph and 60mph in Edinburgh, with gusts of between 70mph and 80mph in the north-west Highlands and Western Isles, and 90mph in the most exposed places.

Ms Boyle said the storm was caused by an area of low pressure passing north of Scotland towards Norway, which would pull in very cold Arctic air.

She said: "This will bring snow to all levels, not just the hills. North of Perth, it's going to be really bad."

Temperatures are not expected to rise above 2C or 3C, but may feel as low as -6C because of wind chill.

Rob Hutchinson, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said conditions in the Highlands were likely to be "atrocious".

Mr Hutchinson said: "All of Scotland is going to see some snow at some point.

"The very worst conditions will be in north Scotland. In the Highlands, there will be drifting snow and blizzards, and atrocious conditions."

Highland Council said the conditions were likely to close some of its 220 schools. Two primaries near Inverness were shut yesterday and pupils at two others were sent home early.

The AA has warned drivers to check traffic and weather reports before setting out, and postpone their journeys where possible.

A spokesman said: "Driving conditions will get increasingly tricky."

Milder conditions are expected to return next week.