Image source, Getty Images

Clacton Pier, external in Essex will be shut on Friday because of the storm.

The inside area was originally suppossed to open today but worries it may encourage people to travel mean it has been shut entirely.

Nigel Brown from the pier told BBC Essex: "Due to the fact the advice is it's best not to travel we didn't wnat to keep the indoor area open which could attract people down here."

"It's disappointing, we were closed last February half-term and not open much during the pandemic, so we were looking forward to less disruption but there's nothing you can do about the weather."

On Thursday, only eight of sixteen rides were open due to Storm Dudley.

Weather dependent, the pier hopes to reopen on Saturday as normal.

Bin collections in part of East Suffolk have been suspended.

East Suffolk Council, external has told those expecting a collection in the east of the district, in Aldeburgh, Leiston, Saxmundham, Felixstowe, Wickham Market, Woodbridge, Framlingham and surrounding areas, to bring their bins in as they would not be collected today.

It said collections in the north, in Lowestoft, Beccles, Southwold, Bungay and Halesworth, would continue as scheduled for the time-being.

Greater Anglia, external has suspended all services, apart from Liverpool Street to Shenfield.

A station announcement at Ipswich Station said: "No trains are operating from any Greater Anglia stations at present. This is due to the adverse weather conditions."

Services between Ipswich and Lowestoft in Suffolk, and the line between Colchester/Marks Tey in Essex and Sudbury in Suffolk had already been closed.

There had also been disruption across the network with fallen trees blocking the railway between Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street, and between Stratford and Bishop's Stortford plastic sheeting got caught on overhead electrical wires.

A spokeswoman for Greater Anglia said five trees down across tracks across its network, with power outages and plastic sheeting on overhead wires also hitting services.

A town's parks and sports facilities have been closed due to Storm Eunice.

Ipswich Borough Council said the following would be closed due to the Red Weather Warning, external issued by the Met Office:

• Ipswich Market - will not be in operation today
• Ipswich Town Hall - including the café is closed today
• Blue bin (recycling) collection - currently working as normal but could be suspended later today
• Shopmobility - closed today
• Parks - those that can be locked have been shut, people are urged not to use others
• Sports - Crown Pools and Fore Street Pool as well as Gainsborough, Whitton and Northgate Sports Centres are closed
• Customer Service Centre - the face-to-face customer service centre at the Town Hall is closed.

Bikes fell off the roof of a vehicle and on to a dual carriageway, police said.

Norfolk and Suffolk Roads and Armed Police Team said the incident happened on the A11 southbound between Elveden and Mildenhall in Suffolk this morning.

It said one lane had to be closed while the bicycles were removed from the carriageway.

The road has since been cleared.

Image source, Eddie Howland/Suffolk Fire and Rescue

The Suffolk Resilience forum, made up of councils, health bodies, utility companies and the emergency services, made the decision to declare the emergency incident.

Chief Fire Officer Jon Lacey said: “We are facing a significant risk of disruption and danger to life with the force of Storm Eunice.

“It is therefore right that we respond in a fully coordinated way with all blue light and multi-agency partners.

“I ask everyone to avoid any unnecessary travel and keep up to date on the latest advice being given by public bodies.”

A major incident has been declared in Suffolk as Storm Eunice hits.

In Cambridgeshire, IWN Duxford will not be open in Friday "as a safety precaution" and in Norfolk, Wroxham Barns has also made the decision to shut.

"This is not a decision taken lightly, but our team, customers and animals safety is paramount," a Wroxham Barns statement said. It is due to be open again on Saturday.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK's largest container port has closed due to the weather.

A spokesman for the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk said it was expected to be closed until Saturday morning.

"Although the port is closed to traffic we will be making use of the time to undertake some maintenance on our operating IT systems," he added.

The port handles 36% of the UK's freight container traffic.

Elsewhere, the Port of Harwich in Essex remains open.

Tree branches have fallen in Clare, Suffolk, taking out electricity cables.

They fell along the B1063 Chiltern Street, say Suffolk Highways. , external

They are urging anyone stuck not to try and move the branches or trees themselves.

Crews are on their way to help with clear up.

Image source, Lisa Dersley

Two families have spoken of their disappointment after having their long weekend at Center Parcs cancelled.

Lisa Dersley and Nikki Welch were due to go to firm's holiday village in Elveden, Suffolk, with their families from today until Monday.

They said they were told at 21:30 yesterday that the whole weekend would be cancelled due to the weather.

Mrs Dersley, from Martlesham near Ipswich, who was due to go with her husband and three children, said: "We had already packed, we've got no food shopping in the house as we weren't going to be here, and the children were already in bed so they've woken up to find out we're not going.

"We've already had three holidays cancelled because of Covid and it looks like we're going to spend this half term stuck at home because you can't book anything else as it's either booked up or extortionately priced."

Center Parcs, external said it did not take the decision to close its villages "lightly" and any affected guests could either change the date of their break or take a full refund.

Image source, Greater Anglia

The rail operator, Greater Anglia, has reiterated its advice to only travel if it is essential, although it is still running trains on its mainlines.

Full details of the reduced services recan be found on its website, external.

The following lines will remain closed throughout the day:

• Marks Tey to Sudbury
• Ipswich to Lowestoft

Customers who have booked tickets for travel on Friday, 18 February will be able to travel on Saturday.

Other train companies are offering similar advice about non-essential travel. Check their websites for the latest:

• Chiltern Railways, external
• c2c, external
• Cross Country, external
• East Midlands Railway, external
• Great Northern, external
• London North Eastern Railway, external
• London Northwestern Railway, external
• Northern, external
• Stansted Express, external
• Thameslink, external

Image source, Shaun Whitmore/BBC

BBC East's Shaun Whitmore has taken these pictures of the "calm before the storm" at Ness Point in Lowestoft in Suffolk - Britain's most easterly point.

This morning's high tide, external is due at Lowestoft at 10:46 - at a height of 2.35m.

The town has been flooded by high tides in the past, most recently in 2013, but the Environment Agency isn't predicting any flooding for the coastal area on its interactive floods map, external.

Image source, Shaun Whitmore/BBC

Image source, Shaun Whitmore/BBC

Hundreds of homes in Northamptonshire have been left without power due to Storm Eunice.

Western Power Distribution said homes in the NN4 and NN7 postcode areas in Northampton were affected.

The power company said more than 900 properties had lost power just after 06:30, but it had since been restored.

Pensthorpe Natural Park, external, near Fakenham in Norfolk, was able to open on Thursday following safety checks after Storm Dudley, but has decided not to open on Friday.

Image source, Pensthorpe Natural Park

The Museum of East Anglian Life, external in Stowmarket, Suffolk, is also shut today "due to the dangerous high winds".

It said there would be no access to the museum site and the shop and The Osier Café would also be closed.

Image source, Paradise Wildlife Park

As well as Whipsnade Zoo and Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire being closed, both Banham Zoo in Norfolk and Africa Alive in Suffolk will be closed today.

Claudia Roberts, chief executive officer of the Zoological Society of East Anglia, which runs both, said: "We apologise for any inconvenience caused but the safety of our visitors, animals and colleagues is our priority.

"We are very sorry for anyone who was looking forward to visiting tomorrow but there’s no need to rebook, you can use your ticket at any time in the next six months, just bring it along and present it at the entrance kiosk."

Image source, ZSEA

In Hertfordshire, Paradise Wildlife Park, external, near Broxbourne, also announced it would be closed.

It said: "This decision has not been made lightly but has been made to ensure the safety of all our visitors, staff and animals.

"Our expert keepers will still be on site caring for our animals and we expect to be open as usual on Saturday."

It added it would be in touch with anyone who had pre-booked for Friday.

The Love Light Norwich Festival, external says it has cancelled its programme on Friday.

The three-day event, which started on Thursday, includes new installations, projections and performances in the city.

Organisers have said that Saturday's programme will still go ahead as planned, with some outdoor events being moved indoors where possible.

The inaugural event in 2020 was disrupted when outdoor events on the Saturday were cancelled due to the forecast of Storm Dennis's high winds.

Center Parcs, which runs holiday villages in Woburn in Bedfordshire and Elvdeden in Suffolk, has announced it will be closing them this weekend due to the weather.

Image source, Center Parcs

Guests usually arrived on Fridays.

A statement on its website, external said: "We do not take the decision to close our villages lightly and we hope our guests will understand why we feel it is necessary to take this course of action."

The company said it hoped to welcome guests arriving on Monday.

The worst of the weather isn't expected until later in the morning but BBC Weather Watchers have given us an early indication of the conditions at the moment.

Image source, WeatherWatcher/Viewfinder

Image source, WeatherWatcher/Wendy P

Image source, WeatherWatcher/Zingaro Blue