Storm Deirdre: Wind, snow and rain hit parts of UK

High winds, snow and freezing rain have hit parts of the UK as Storm Deirdre swept in, bringing travel disruption and power cuts.

The Met Office said up to 50cm (20in) of snow fell in the Highlands and wind gusts reached 70mph on the Welsh coast.

Multiple crashes because of icy conditions were reported by police overnight on Saturday and hundreds of homes lost power in Scotland and Wales.

The Met Office said the freezing rain had mostly cleared, but ice was likely.

It warned that melting snow and rain due on Monday could create a risk of "localised flooding".

The A66 near Brough in Cumbria was closed due to "adverse cold weather," Cumbria Police said

A number of police forces - in Devon, Cheshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, South Yorkshire and Merseyside - all tweeted to say they were responding to traffic collisions or incidents of fallen trees.

• Treacherous conditions 'could worsen' in Scotland

• Heavy wind and rain cuts power to homes in Wales

Several crashes were reported between junctions 15 and 17 of the M74 in southern Scotland.

Police in Dumfries tweeted that multiple vehicles had crashed, adding: "It appears the freezing rain may have arrived on the motorway."

Traffic Scotland said heavy snow was causing delays on the A9 between Perth and Aviemore and the A84 was said to be "impassable" north of Callander.

Hundreds of homes lost power due to high winds on Saturday.

About 600 homes were still without power in the north east of Scotland on Sunday but supplies were expected to be restored by Sunday night.

The outages, due to the weather, were in various location across Aberdeenshire, including Ballater, Mintlaw, Ellon and Strathdon.

SSE said engineers were on site and power was expected to be restored by Sunday evening.

Freezing rain left a layer of ice on a branch near Settle in North Yorkshire

In Wales, several hundred properties - mostly in Pembrokeshire - were affected by power outages on Saturday.

Footage from Manchester Airport posted on YouTube showed planes aborting landings due to strong crosswinds.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said the majority of rain and snow had cleared into the North Sea on Saturday evening.

"We've had a number of roads that have been closed due to ice and blocked by vehicles that have slid out of control," he said.

He said cold temperatures meant ice patches would remain on Sunday but people could expect "milder conditions".