'Take care' warnings issued ahead of Storm Agnes

A previous storm at Porthmeor, St Ives

People are being urged to take care due to the possibility of fallen trees and debris from Storm Agnes - the first named storm of the season.

Devon County Council said there might be "a large amount of tree and other windblown debris on the roads, pavements and cycleways".

The RNLI also warned the forecast conditions for Storm Agnes could pose "significant" risks to those who were visiting the coast.

The charity is asking people to take extreme caution on Wednesday and Thursday after a yellow warning for heavy rain and 80mph (129km/h) winds was issued by the Met Office.

"We strongly advise that you do not go in the water," said Henry Irvine from the RNLI.

"The risk of rip currents will be heightened by the strong winds and big swell."

He added: "Be aware of your surroundings whilst walking on the beach, the conditions increase the likelihood of tidal surges that could sweep you out to sea."

The coastguard also issued a similar warning.

Jill Rylance, from Falmouth Coastguard, said with the right precautions "hopefully everyone would stay safe".

She added: "Be sensible, stay away from the cliff edge, wear sensible clothing, don't go close to the water. Be very careful, be very cautious."

Ahead of the forecast storm people were walking at Perranporth beach

BBC weather forecaster for south-west England, David Braine, said the north coast of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset was "likely to be the most affected".

He said: "We could see gusts of wind of 60, maybe 65mph. For the rest of our counties it looks like the winds will be less, around 50 to 55mph and those winds will quite quickly ease as we go into the evening."

Isles of Scilly Travel warned sailings "could be uncomfortable" on Wednesday and Thursday.

While sailings were not said to have been cancelled, passengers could get a refund for their tickets or transfer travel to another day.

Flood alerts have been issued by the Environment Agency for the high tide on Wednesday evening in Padstow.

It also warned of a risk of "wave overtopping" in Port Quin, Port Isaac, Port Gaverne, and Boscastle.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, cabinet member for highways management at Devon County Council, said the authority had increased staffing during the storm.

“Additional staff will be on duty to cope with any increase in calls to the control centre and Devon Highways will have extra teams ready to call upon if needed," he said.

Cornwall Council also asked people to "take extra care" in the conditions.

People were advised by the RNLI not to attempt to rescue those in difficulty but to call 999 instead and to take care on exposed cliffs, seafronts and piers.

The charity said lifeguard cover would vary over weekdays and weekends at different locations in the coming weeks.