Storm Arwen: Newcastle v Worcester Premiership game postponed

Kingston Park is located in the north west of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Friday's Premiership game between Newcastle Falcons and Worcester Warriors has been postponed with Storm Arwen set to hit the north east.

The match at Kingston Park has been moved to 18:00 GMT on Saturday.

A rare red warning for high winds up to 100 mph in the region has been issued by the Met Office, meaning there is potentially a risk to life.

Newcastle Falcons said they had decided to call off the game for the safety of our players, spectators and staff.

The city itself is under an amber warning for wind with gusts of up to 75mph predicted.

Worcester said they fully supported the decision to postpone the match.

"The safety of all - spectators, staff and players - comes first in making these decisions," a club statement said.

"In those circumstances it would have been wrong to have asked people to undertake a potentially hazardous journey.

"The majority of the Warriors squad travelled to Newcastle on Thursday and trained at Blaydon RFC, but other members of the squad, including travelling reserves and staff, made the outward journey today."

There is a further warning of low temperatures for the weekend, although the Falcons have an artificial surface so frozen ground should not be an issue.

"Areas in the north will see temperatures below freezing overnight, with daytime maximum temperatures only getting into the low single figures," Will Lang from the Met Office said.

"It's important to note that strong wind speeds will exacerbate the cold temperatures we'll be seeing over the weekend."