Three hurt as tree falls on bus carrying schoolchildren

The tree was blown onto the bus as pupils waited to travel home after a day at school

Three children were injured when a tree was blown onto a bus carrying school pupils in Pontypool as gales battered Wales.

The bus was outside Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw comprehensive in Trevethin when the tree, which was on school grounds, fell at 15:40 GMT on Friday.

Two children had minor injuries and one girl was taken to hospital, but all have now been released by medics.

The wind also saw two planes destined for Cardiff diverted to Bristol.

One was a flight from Tenerife and the other from Dublin.

The Met Office said the south westerly winds would bring gusts of up to 70-80 mph on Friday evening and the gusts would continue into Saturday morning.

Disruption

The strong winds brought travel disruption on the roads, forced ferries to be cancelled and left hundreds without electricity.

• A woman driver managed to get out without any injuries after a falling tree hit her car on the A467 Risca bypass.

• The winds also led to speed restrictions of 20mph on the A55 Britannia Bridge crossing to Anglesey.

• A 40mph limit was in place on the M48 Severn Bridge in south Wales, where traffic was reduced to one lane in both directions.

• The A477 Cleddau Bridge in Pembrokeshire was closed to high-sided vehicles.

• Western Power Distribution said 700 homes were left without electricity after tree branches hit power lines at Gilwern near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. A total of 182 customers remained without power on Friday evening.

• Irish Ferries cancelled high speed sailings between Holyhead and Dublin due to the weather. Some cruise ferry crossings between Pembroke Dock and Rosslare were also affected. Stena Line cruise ferry services are currently unaffected.

Scaffolding was blown down from the new Cardiff University building in Dumballs Road

Natural Resources Wales issued one flood warning for the Conwy Valley and also put in place flood alerts for rivers in Gwynedd, Conwy and south Pembrokeshire.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called to deal with an unsafe structure after metal sheeting blew off the top of a disused petrol station on Cardiff Road in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan.

They were also dealing with fallen trees in Lisvane and Creigiau in Cardiff.

The SWALEC Cup match between Cardiff and Bridgend Ravens at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park on Friday night was also called off on health and safety grounds.