Two men killed by falling trees as Storm Darragh rages

Two men have been killed by trees falling on their vehicles during Storm Darragh, as strong winds and heavy rain continue to rage across the UK.

Gusts of up to 93mph battered some areas earlier on Saturday as the storm caused significant disruption in south Wales, western England and Northern Ireland, with many train services and flights cancelled.

A red Met Office red warning for parts of Wales and south-west England ended at 11:00 GMT on Saturday, but an amber warning for further wind remains in place through to the evening.

Throughout the day, hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power across the country with more than 1,000 engineers deployed. Thousands are still without supply.

The man died when a tree fell across the A59 in Longton, Lancashire

Yellow weather warnings for wind will stay in place across most of the UK until early on Sunday morning.

A man died in the Erdington area of Birmingham after a tree fell and hit his car just after 3pm on Saturday, West Midlands Police said.

In Lancashire, a man in his 40s died after a tree fell onto his Citroen van, police said.

Emergency services were called at around 09:00 GMT after the incident on the A59 at Longton. He died at the scene.

In Wales, a major incident has been declared by Dyfed-Powys Police covering the counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys.

The force said it was receiving high volumes of calls about fallen trees and poor driving conditions.

Elsewhere, the owners of Llandudno Pier in Conwy said on Saturday it had taken "an absolute battering", with a 150-year-old unit "ripped off [its] foundations and tipped onto its side".

Llandudno Pier owners said the unit had "completely gone"

Part of the roof was blown off Castle Douglas High School in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland during an amber weather warning, with a clean up operation under way.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said on Saturday evening that energy networks had more than "1,000 engineers out seeking to restore supplies" throughout the day.

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said earlier that power cuts were affecting more than 46,000 premises.

Part of the roof blew off Castle Douglas High School in Dumfries and Galloway

Around three million people received a government emergency alert on their mobiles on Friday evening giving advice about the storm.

It was the largest use yet of the UK warning system and made a loud siren-like sound when delivered to devices, lasting for around 10 seconds.

Although weather conditions remain poor, the UK is past the peak of the strongest wind, after gusts of 93mph were recorded in Capel Curig, north Wales, and 92mph in Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula on Saturday morning.

Dramatic waves crash over the seafront in Porthcawl in Wales

Both Bristol Airport and Cardiff Airport are advising passengers to contact their airline or tour operator due to anticipated disruption.

Network Rail said all lines on the network in Wales - except between Cardiff and Bristol via the Severn Tunnel, and the Core Valley lines - would remain closed for the rest of Saturday.

In Wales, all domestic football and rugby matches scheduled for Saturday were cancelled, as was Cardiff City's Championship fixture against Watford which had been due to kick off at 15:00.

Richard Griffiths, owner of the Richmond Hotel in Aberystwyth, said the town was in "complete darkness" following a power cut earlier.

All of London's Royal Parks are closed on Saturday, including the Winter Wonderland attraction in Hyde Park.

Horse races planned this afternoon at Aintree in Merseyside and Chepstow in south Wales were abandoned due to the weather.

The Premier League match between Everton v Liverpool, scheduled at Merseyside's Goodison Park, was also been postponed.

In Northern Ireland, where there is an amber weather warning until 21:00 GMT, multiple Christmas events have been cancelled this weekend.

Belfast City Council said its Christmas market would be closed on Saturday, while the Enchanted Winter Garden events at Antrim Castle Gardens had been cancelled for Friday and Saturday.

Storm Darragh has also brought heavy rain over the weekend, with 144 flood alerts - meaning flooding is possible - in England.

There 71 alerts in Wales, which was badly affected by flooding during Storm Bert and where the ground is still very saturated.

Storm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season following Bert and Conall which caused severe flooding last month.