Summary

  • Christmas getaway journeys are ruined for thousands after a strike in France closes the Channel Tunnel and Storm Pia winds cause chaos elsewhere

  • Eurostar and LeShuttle services were suspended earlier due to an unexpected walkout by Eurotunnel workers

  • Eurotunnel has since confirmed the strike is over - but it's unclear when traffic will resume

  • Crowds of passengers were left stranded at St Pancras after Eurostar cancelled 30 trains

  • Rail services at London Euston have also been severely disrupted after power problems meant all lines to and from the station were blocked

  • Trains to and from Scotland, north-west England and the West Midlands have been delayed or cancelled

  • British Airways adjusted its flight schedule as a result of Storm Pia - which has battered northern parts of the UK with gusts of 80mph

  • And many of the UK's main airports, including Gatwick, Manchester and Leeds Bradford, have cancelled flights

  • Drivers have been told the weekend will be the busiest time of the festive period - with 21 million trips expected before Christmas

Live Reporting

Edited by Fiona Nimoni

  1. Blustery days ahead - with a white Christmas for some

    Simon King
    BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

    With strong north-westerly winds down the North Sea, there’ll be a small tidal surge bringing the risk of coastal flooding.

    While the strongest winds will ease by Friday, the weather in the run-up to Christmas Day will remain rather blustery with further spells of rain for some.

    For Christmas Day itself, there’ll be some rain across southern areas and some wintry showers in Scotland with snow over higher ground (which would make it an official "white Christmas").

    Otherwise, for most it’ll be largely dry with temperatures around average for the time of year.

  2. A windy Thursday across the UK

    Simon King
    BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

    Weather graphic of Storm Pia

    Storm Pia - named by the Danish Meteorological Institute - is passing to the north of Scotland, resulting in some strong winds across the UK.

    Through the early hours of this morning, there were gusts that widely reached 60-80mph (100-130km/h) across the northern half of the UK.

    Even further south it has been very blustery.

    It will stay windy right through today, with a Met Office yellow warning for wind until 21:00 GMT covering Northern Ireland, Scotland, northern England, north Wales, the north and east Midlands and to parts of East Anglia.

    Wind gusts will continue at around 45-55mph - and locally 70-80mph in Shetland and to the east of high ground.

    Travel disruption on ferries, bridges and possibly air travel is likely to continue all day.

  3. Scottish rail travel impacted

    Rail operator TransPennine Express (TPE) has issued "do not travel" advice on its trains to and from Edinburgh - asking customers to delay their journeys until after 15:00 today.

    TPE said there would be speed restrictions in place for trains running to and from the Scottish capital, adding that it would not run services between the city and north-west England until this afternoon.

    Meanwhile, ScotRail has warned that there could be "short notice changes to journeys".

    And Network Rail says some services in Scotland will only run once safety inspections have taken place.

  4. Storm Pia threatens Christmas travel issues

    Strong winds from Storm Pia are threatening disruption to journeys in the lead-up to Christmas. This follows a yellow wind weather warning from the Met Office, which is in place across parts of the UK until 21:00.

    Scotland appears to be the most heavily impacted part of the UK so far - but Belfast and Manchester are among the other cities covered by the Met Office's warning.

    For those hoping to travel by rail, TransPennine Express has urged its passengers to avoid services to and from Edinburgh until 15:00 today.

    Thanks for joining this live coverage - brought to you by Malu Cursino, Jamie Whitehead and James FitzGerald.