Storm brings power cuts and travel disruption

Waves crash against the lighthouse in Seaham Harbour, County Durham

Storm Darragh is bringing travel disruption and power cuts to hundreds of homes across the North East and Cumbria.

Northern Powergrid is dealing with power outages across the region, from Teesside to Northumberland, and warned disruption was expected until the evening.

The A66 between Brough and Bowes is closed to high sided vehicles due to strong winds.

CrossCountry said rail travel was disrupted, with delays and cancellations, and advised passengers to check their trains were running before they travelled.

LNER said it had now repaired a fault between Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed, meaning services to Edinburgh should no longer run at reduced speed.

A yellow weather warning for wind remains in place for England and Wales until 18:00 GMT.

A yellow rain warning for the North East ended at 09:00 GMT.

A Northern Powergrid spokesman said their teams were "working hard in challenging conditions" to get the power back on to those affected.

A small number of homes are also without power in Cumbria and Electricity North West said power lines in Eskdale had been affected by the storm.

Flood alerts

Flood alerts are in place across the region, with a flood warning still active for Keswick campsite, in Cumbria.

The Environment Agency has issued seven flood alerts in the North East, including for the coastal rivers in North Northumberland, the Tyne and Wear coast and the Lower River Tees.

Flood warnings in place earlier around the River Coquet in Northumberland have been downgraded to alerts.

On Saturday there were eight flood alerts across Cumbria, but they have been reduced to two - one for the Upper River Derwent, Stonethwaite Beck and Derwent Water, near Keswick, and one for the rivers Brathay, Rothay and Winster at Bowness-on-Windermere.

The Windermere ferry in Cumbria remains out of service due to high winds.

National Highways has now reopened the A19 Tees Flyover near Middlesbrough to high sided and vulnerable vehicles, after it was closed earlier due to strong winds.