NIE says power restored to most NI homes

A children's playground in Portstewart has been flooded by waves crashing over the sea wall

A car in Newtownabbey was damaged when a tree fell across the Antrim Road close to Belfast Zoo.

A tree fell on a car on the Ballynahinch Road, Saintfield, County Down

The Christmas tree in Ballyclare, County Antrim was blown over by the strong winds

The Christmas tree at Stormont was also a casualty of the strong winds

High winds caused a tree to fall on the Coleraine to Limavady mountain road blocking one lane

This shop on the Grosvenor Road in Belfast partially collapsed

The Christmas market in Belfast was closed for a time as a safety precaution

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has said power has been restored to most customers after strong winds caused disruption to supplies.

Close to 30,000 customers were affected at one point, with less than 20 still without power.

The Christmas market in Belfast city centre was closed as a safety precaution. It re-opened at 14:00 GMT.

Several roads were closed due to fallen trees. Ferry and rail services were also disrupted.

NIE said engineers and emergency crews were working on all "known faults" and hoped to have customers back on supply on Friday morning.

The company brought in teams from other parts of Northern Ireland to help in the restoration process.