Storm Doris: 10 hurt as winds wreak havoc across North West

A tree fell on a Post Office van in Aigburth, Liverpool

At least 10 people have been injured as Storm Doris battered the North West of England.

A seven-year-old boy, who was hit by a falling sign, was among those needing medical attention.

North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

Storm Doris has caused serious problems across the region with roads shut, rail lines blocked, flights cancelled and shipping operations curtailed.

The seven-year-old was hit by a sign which flew off a building on Old Street in Ashton-Under-Lyne.

An uprooted tree blocks Aigburth Road in Liverpool

In Merseyside, a man, in his 60s, suffered back and pelvic injuries after a tree fell in Crosby and a woman was injured when her car was hit by a falling tree in Huyton, NWAS said.

A man on Carr Lane in Wigan was hit by some fencing and six others were injured after being blown off over.

Cheshire Police said it had received an "unprecedented" amount of calls.

The force said it had responded to more than 500 incidents relating to the storm including fallen trees and damage to buildings which had caused "significant debris" on the county's roads.

The roof of a Lidl store, which is currently under construction, blew off in Blackpool

Attractions including Chester Zoo and Jodrell Bank were forced to close for the day.

Filming on the set of Coronation Street in Salford had to be rescheduled after "worsening weather conditions made outdoor scenes impossible", a spokeswoman for the ITV soap said.

An evening performance by Gerry Marsden at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton was also cancelled after part of the theatre roof was damaged.

Travel around the region affected:

• National Rail advised that fallen trees, heavy rain, flooding and debris on tracks had caused delays to a number of services

• There were no services between Manchester Piccadilly and London, Birmingham, Crewe, Stafford, Stoke or Liverpool, Network Rail said

• Virgin Trains suspended all services except for an hourly shuttle between London, and Birmingham and Scotland

• Merseyrail services were disrupted with some trains replaced by buses

• The Isle of Man's Ronaldsway Airport was closed after a plane was unable to take off due to winds of more than 70mph (110km/h)

• Manchester Airport said 18 flights had been diverted and there had been a few cancellations and delays

• Mersey Ferries, the P&O ferry to Dublin and daytime sailings between Douglas in the Isle of Man to Heysham in Lancashire were all cancelled

• The M6 was closed in both directions over the Thelwall Viaduct

• The Port of Liverpool was closed after Peel Ports reported gusts of 100mph (160km/h)

A wall next to a car park on Cleveland Street in Birkenhead, Wirral collapsed on to several cars

Electricity North West said about 7,500 homes were left without electricity due to the storms.

Power has since been restored to 5,000 homes and work is being carried out to restore supplies to the remainder.

More than 400 homes were affected in Cheshire after high winds damaged an overhead power cable in Poynton and 219 homes in Lower Withington near Macclesfield also suffered blackouts.

In Lancashire, 154 properties in Longridge were without supplies and 256 homes in Horwich, Bolton were affected.

There was disruption at the Wallasey tunnel in Merseyside because of a fallen tree

Part of Devonshire Road in Blackpool is closed after the roof of a Lidl store, which is currently under construction, blew off.

In addition to the high winds, there are two flood alerts in operation in Lancashire - on Earby beck and on the River Calder upper catchment.

The Met Office have rebranded Doris a "weather bomb" after the system underwent what is called "explosive cyclogenesis".

The roof of a business unit in Bootle has been destroyed by the winds