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Thousands of people are without power after rain and high winds hit parts of the north east of England, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Lancashire as Storm Dudley struck.

An amber wind warning, external is in place until midnight then a yellow wind warning, external from Thursday afternoon into Friday as Dudley leaves and Storm Eunice arrives.

Power firms had said they were ready after storms such as Arwen, Malik and Corrie caused days of outages.

Northern Powergrid had to put people in a queue for its website due to demand.

Image source, Northern Powergrid

The condition of one of two men injured in the blast has deteriorated to critical, police say.

The head teacher of a County Durham school says he is supporting the families of four pupils who were taken to hospital.

The North East Ambulance Service was called to Wyvern Academy on Eggleston View in Darlington yesterday at 13:00 GMT after one student had an epileptic fit.

Head Owen Inglis said: "While on site, the emergency services aided two other students with underlying health conditions and these students were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. These students have been discharged by the hospital."

Another student was also taken to hospital by a parent and has since been discharged.

Image source, Google

Mr Inglis added: "This is an unusual event to take place at the academy but, Wyvern Academy is and remains a safe space for all students, the fact our staff responded quickly and appropriately to the situation ensured the safety of students was key.

“We have spoken to each of the pupils’ families and are supporting them with these ongoing medical conditions."

The school says it's working with external agencies to provide additional support.

Northumberland County Council says it is ready to support residents as Storms Dudley and Eunice hit north-east England and Scotland.

The authority said its response was "well under way" based on the experiences from four previous storms.

It had faced criticism for its response to Storm Arwen, which left thousands of people without power.

It has now provided some useful contact details:

• Northumberland County Council out-of-hours service: 0345 600 6400

• Northumberland Communities Together (for anyone struggling with food supplies or other essentials) Mon-Fri 09:00 - 18:00: 01670 620015
• Northern Powergrid: Click here to visit the Northern Powergrid website, external or call 105
• Scottish Power: Click here to visit the Scottish Power website, external or call 105
• Northumbria Water: 0345 717 1100
• One Call (for concerns about vulnerable residents or safeguarding issues): 01670 536400
• Click here to read the Met Office storm safety advice, external

Motorists are being warned of delays on the A1M northbound between Durham and Chester-le-Street because of a broken down vehicle.

Police say fuel has leaked onto the carriageway and one of the lanes has been closed.

Drivers are warned of tailbacks resulting in delays and are asked to use an alternative route.

Travellers in the north of England are being warned to expect significant disruption as Storm Dudley arrives.

Durham County Council is urging all drivers to take care, especially those of high-sided vehicles, on busy routes such as the A1M, A19 and A66.

In Yorkshire, the Humber Bridge has been closed to high-sided vehicles , externalwhile a number of trains between Leeds and London have been cancelled due to damage to overhead power lines.

London Northern Eastern Railway said there would be speed restrictions on the line north from Berwick from 16:00 and services would be subject to delays and short-notice cancellations.

Paul Mooney
BBC Weather

As the centre of Storm Dudley moves across the North of Scotland, here in the North East and Cumbria we’ll bear the brunt of the westerly winds on its southern flank later today and overnight.

With a Met Office amber warning in force from 14:00 until midnight, widespread gusts in the 60-70mph range are expected, with 80mph possible in exposed locations, such as high ground and parts of the Cumbrian coast perhaps.

Gusts of this strength are certainly enough to cause damage and travel disruption. In fact, they are likely to be of a similar strength many of us experienced during Storm Arwen in November.

However, Storm Arwen produced northerly winds which is an unusual direction for our part of the world and ice was a factor in the disruption caused.

Storm Dudley will result in westerly winds, which our infrastructure is more used to dealing with and, being milder, ice won’t be a major factor.

However, the winds will remain very strong right through the night and, even after Storm Dudley has cleared, we’re still not out of the woods, with Storm Eunice on the way for Friday.

This is expected to bring strong winds again, but the bigger issue then could be snowfall combining with the gusts, resulting in blizzard conditions at times.

Image source, PA Media

Motorists are being warned the A19 near Sunderland is expected to remain closed for most of the morning following a serious collision involving a car and a pedestrian.

The carriageway is closed in both directions between the A183 and A690 while investigations continue into the collision which happened shortly before 01:00 GMT.

A police spokesperson said: “Emergency services currently remain at the scene and an investigation has been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Foxcover Lane and both north and southbound lanes on the A19 remain closed while enquiries are ongoing at the scene."

Drivers are being asked to find alternative routes.

Image source, Northumbria Police

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The incident is believed to have been caused by chemicals used to clean the swimming pool.

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