In the hurricane's tail: Worst storms for 15 years bring blackouts and transport chaos

• Minibus driver dies in County Durham after tree falls on vehicle
• Lorry driver killed in three-vehicle smash on M54
• Boy, 11, hospitalised after being hit by roof that blew off garage in Bradford
• Britain hit by winds of up to 80mph
• Thousands of homes across central England lose power
• All high-speed ferries from Portsmouth to France are cancelled
• Tour of Britain cycle race cancelled over safety fears
• Planes blown off course while landing at Leeds Bradford International Airport

Towering higher than the nearby farmhouse and dwarfing this unfortunate car, a blast of spray is thrown into the sky from the huge wave pummelling the sea wall below.
This was one of many incredible scenes yesterday as the worst storms for 15 years battered Britain.
The wave, which measured almost 12ft, was at Allonby in Cumbria where the wind was 70mph, on top of the highest tide of the month.

Fury of the sea: A car is dwarfed by spray from a 12ft wave on the Cumbrian coast

In a day which brought back memories of the Great Storm of 1987, the remnants of Hurricane Katia battered vast swathes of the country.
Blackouts, falling masonry, downed trees and transport chaos struck as gales reached 82mph in Wales and the mid-70s in the north of England.
The strongest winds were in a 300-mile corridor of land north of mid-Wales in the west and Lincolnshire in the east. Gales reached 60mph in the Midlands and south as well.
An amber alert - the second-highest of four warning levels - had been issued by the Met Office for much of the country as roads were closed and ferry services cancelled.

Drenched: A train makes its way through strong winds as high waves batter the shore near Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, as the remnants of Hurricane Katia hit British shores

Damage: Jacquie Cooling surveys her wrecked commercial cleaning van after it was crushed by the falling tree in St Joseph's Court, Llanelli

Ten flood warnings were issued as waves and high tides threatened to overwhelm coastal defences in the North East and southern Scotland. 
Amid treacherous conditions on the roads, a three-vehicle smash on the M54 near Shropshire killed a lorry driver in his 40s. Two other men were injured. Another driver was killed when a tree fell and crushed a passing car on the A688 near Dunhouse Quarry in County Durham in the afternoon.
Thousands of homes, shops and businesses across central England were blacked out for hours as wind speeds of more than 50mph damaged an overhead power line. Central Networks said 2,000 homes in Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire and Gloucestershire were left without electricity.

In Durham, the roof of a warehouse was blown away, crushing more than 15 cars of workers at the Littleburn Industrial Estate.
But the strongest winds were 82mph at Capel Curig in North Wales, as well as 70mph in Sheffield and 67mph on the Isle of Wight.
In Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, grandparents Margaret and Derrie Yeadle awoke to find 60mph gales had ripped off the top of their house, where they have lived for 40 years.
An 11-year-old boy was in hospital last night after being hit by a roof blown off a garage in Bradford.
The Met Office has issued a yellow severe weather warning today for the north of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland before the winds die down tomorrow. The gales, the tail-end of Hurricane Katia, hit Britain yesterday morning, bringing the worst storms since the remnants of Hurricane Lili wreaked havoc in 1996.
Met Office forecaster Sarah Holland said today would bring more gales reaching about 60mph and warned the public to be on their guard. She said: ‘Winds will reach 60mph in exposed areas of northern England and southern Scotland with 50mph inland, and about 30-40mph in the Midlands.
‘High tides and the full moon mean there is a higher risk of tidal flooding.’ The Environment Agency yesterday issued nine flood alerts for the north-west coast from Morecambe Bay in Cumbria down to Blackpool, North Wales and Anglesey, and one for the north-east coast at Bridlington in Yorkshire.
Charities warned that migrating birds normally found in the Atlantic and Canada had reached Britain, after being blown hundreds of miles off course by the gales.
The blustery conditions will tail off in the Midlands and south of England by tomorrow and across the whole country by Thursday.
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'Controlled explosion': The dramatic moment winds from Hurricane Katia brought down the roof of an industrial unit onto cars in a neighbouring car park

Crushed: A Bako worker surveys the devastation

Write offs: Cars were left wrecked by the collapse

The incident in County Durham was one of the more dramatic ones to hit the country.
CCTV footage, released by a bakery firm, shows the row of five almost-finished industrial units in Langley Moor, coming down as if it had been subject to a 'controlled explosion', said operations manager Sean Kelly at Bako Northern next door.
He said: 'It was extremely lucky for us, all our drivers were out, there were no contractors or visitors. There was nobody hit by a flying brick, though debris was strewn across the yard.'
The collapse happened at around 9.40am when the winds were gusting strongly across the industrial estate.
Mr Kelly, in charge of health and safety at the bakery ingredients distributor where 76 people are employed, was immediately called by the shocked transport manager who can be seen on the CCTV footage holding his head in disbelief.
A total of 10 fire crews attended, as well as the air ambulance which arrived as a precaution, but fortunately no-one was trapped.
The building which collapsed was in the process of being finished but there were no workers on site at the time. It was thought there were no doors on the property when the gust brought it down.
It is not owned by Bako Northern and is on an adjoining site.
A series of people came to take in the sight of the 15 smashed cars, one of which still had its hazard lights flashing.
Mr Kelly said: 'We have to thank our lucky stars it happened when it did, when we were at our quietest.'

Complete write-off: A row of employees' cars are crushed at a factory in Langley Moor, County Durham, after storm-force winds picked up an entire roof from a building next door and dropped it neatly along the vehicles lined up in the car park

Lucky escape: Fortunately no one was injured when the roof blew off the building and landed on the cars

Amid treacherous conditions on the roads, a three-vehicle smash on the M54 near Shropshire killed a lorry driver in his 40s. Two other men were injured.
Another driver was killed when a tree fell and crushed a passing car on the A688 near Dunhouse Quarry in County Durham at 3pm. The vehicle which was struck was from the Butterwick Hospice in Bishop Auckland.
A spokeswoman for Durham Police said a passenger in the minibus was hurt and was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital but their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
The driver, whose identity has not yet been released, was declared dead at the scene.
Inspector Ed Turner said: 'After this afternoon's tragic accident we would urge all drivers to take extra care on their journeys during this period of high winds.'
Grandparents Margaret and Derrie Yeardle were amazed at the strength of the winds which ripped off the top of their home in Mount Pleasant, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.

Shock: Margaret Yendle stands in the attic of her home where the roof was blown off in the middle of the night

Lucky escape: Margaret and her husband Derril were asleep in the house when the roof was blown off by the high winds at around 4.30am this morning

Margaret, 61, said: 'We are really shocked, I never expected anything like this to happen - we've lived here for 40 years and now our house is ruined.
'In some ways we are lucky. It could have so easily come down on us while we were in bed.'
The pensioners were woken at four in the morning by a huge crash and rushed downstairs to discover their roof lying in middle of the street.
Margaret, a retired home support worker, said: 'I saw blue lights flashing through our curtains. I looked out in to the road and there was huge mess. I thought: "There's a nasty accident outside".
'So I went downstairs, opened the front door and the girl across the road said: "Are you alright? That's the roof of your house in the road".'

Hairy: Gale force winds at Leeds Bradford International Airport, Englands highest airport, blew planes off course as they were trying to land

Scary: This Ryanair jet was forced to abort it's landing after being blown sideways across the runway

Difficult conditions: This Flybe aircraft managed to land safely after being blown of course

Gale force winds caused havoc for passenger aircraft attempting to land at England's highest airport, Leeds Bradford International Airport in Yorkshire.
A Ryanair jet was forced to abort its landing after being blown sideways across the runway, while a Flybe jet managed to touchdown safely despite heavy winds interfering with its flight path.
Ports around Britain have been battered by huge waves leading to the cancellation of ferries while trees have been uprooted, causing damage to cars and houses.

Battered: Giant waves crash into Blackpool's coast today, driven by winds of up to 80mph

Now you see him...: Drivers on the West Cumbrian coast battle through mountainous sea water hurled ashore by the remnants of hurricane Katia

Soaked: This jogger is caught out by a wave at Southsea seafront where the south coast has been battered by strong winds

Drenched: A man walks on the sea front at Largs, on the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire, where some of the worst weather has been seen

Increasing wind speeds as the hurricane approached forced the cancellation of high speed ferries to France from Portsmouth.
Brittany Ferries said it was scrapping its high speed ferries on two crossings scheduled from Portsmouth to Cherbourg on Monday.
Safety regulations state that when waves reach a height of 10 feet or more the high speed crossings must not go ahead.

A spokesman for the company said it hopes to have all services operating as usual by Tuesday.

Fur flying: A pair of Chinese Crested Powder Puff dogs out for a walk in the heavy winds in Largs, Scotland, where the tail end of Hurricane Katia caused extreme weather conditions

Bracing: This Chinese Crested Powder Puff dog can barely keep his eyes open as he's buffeted by the gale force winds

Winds: Firefighters in Liverpool clear up debris from Queens Drive in Allerton after gales tore through the area

Damaged: A car has its windscreen smashed after part of a tree fell on it in Queens Drive, Allerton, Liverpool

The second stage of the Tour of Britain was also cancelled for safety reasons due to high winds across today's competition route in Cumbria and Lancashire.
Tour of Britain riders were instead participating in an exhibition lap around Kendal, Cumbria, before reconvening tomorrow morning for the third stage of the race in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.
'We've had to take the decision based on the advice we've had from the police and Highways that it is unsafe to run today's stage so it is being cancelled, unfortunately,' a Tour spokesman said.
'We're going to do a lap around Kendal with the riders because Kendal is the least affected part of the route. There are thousands of people here in Kendal and we want to give them something to see.
The high points (of the route) and particularly Blackpool on the sea front is unsafe, unfortunately.'

Uprooted: Homeowner Clare Taylor steps over a fallen tree in Brighton, East Sussex

It's here: High winds hit Saltcoats in Ayrshire as gale force winds lash western Scotland

Hold on to your brolly: A woman in Glasgow struggles with her umbrella in the strong wind and rain

Organisers of the America's Cup lifted out all the boats taking part in the international sailing competition in Plymouth as 70mph gusts swept the Devon coast today.

This Met Office map shows where the storm has concentrated today

Nine catamarans from seven countries taking part in the event were removed from the water and taken ashore because of fears that the boats - worth up to £800,000 each - could be damaged by the hurricane.
As the winds began rising in speed during Saturday's racing, three boats capsized while 10,000 spectators watched from the shore, and organisers decided they could not take a risk on even worse mayhem on Monday when the storms were expected to reach a peak.
By a stroke of luck, Monday and Tuesday arere official rest days for the catamarans' crews anyway.
The chief executive officer of the event authority, Craig Thompson, said 'They were right on the edge in that level of wind, but some senior sailors said they could have raced in winds that were even five knots [5.8mph] higher.'
However, he said that lifting the boats out of the water and getting them stored safely back on dry land before the winds strengthened even more had been a 'good move'.
He added 'It was a real test for everybody. Three boats going over was a surprise, but it certainly made for an exciting spectacle from the Hoe.'
Organisers said they hoped the worst weather would be over before racing commenced again on Wednesday.
An alert - which warns that flooding is possible - had been issued along the North Sea coast in Yorkshire between Bridlington and Barmston with people being told to be aware of overtopping spray and waves at high tide.

Artist Antony Gormley's Another Place statue feels the force as high winds cause large waves on the River Mersey as the remnants of Hurricane Katia hit British shores

Road chaos: A fallen tree blocks both lanes of the A470, dual carriageway at rush hour in Pontypridd, South Wales

Brave: The hardy swimmers from the Clevedon Open Water Swimming club take to the water for their daily dip today despite the gale being whipped up by the remnants of Hurricane Katia

Gales: A Team Korea crew member falls from the trampoline as they capsize in high winds in the America's Cup in Plymouth

There were warnings the storm could disrupt road and rail networks and damage buildings, and trees could be uprooted.
The worst conditions were in northern and western parts of England and central and southern Scotland. The Environment Agency issued flood alerts for the North East, North West and Wales.

Coastal areas have been at greatest risk of flooding with strong winds to gales, large waves and a surge coinciding with high tides.
High winds will continue into today before petering out on Wednesday. Homeowners were warned to check for loose tiles and bring garden furniture indoors to help prevent flying debris.
Billy Payne, forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: 'The brunt of the the wind will go through central and southern Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England and North Wales.
'Gusts are from 60-70mph in some places, possibly higher, especially in exposed places in parts of western Scotland like the islands and hilly areas.
'It will be quite windy in the south (of England) too with gusts of 40-50mph.
'There will be quite a lot of rain, perhaps heavy outbreaks over the next couple of days. The heavy rain will be mostly confined to the north and west of Scotland Monday and Tuesday. There is a risk of some flooding in north-west Scotland with the high rainfall totals.'
Although the hurricane has been downgraded, it still promises to create the worst storms since 1996 when Hurricane Lili brought 90mph winds to these shores.
Met Office forecaster Tom Morgan said: ‘In areas with amber warnings there will be 60-70mph gusts in many places and a chance of 80mph in a few exposed locations.’
The winds were accompanied by scattered rain and some hail storms on the east and south coasts.

Retreat: Young body boarders head home from the sea at west strand Portrush on the north Antrim coast last night as heavy skies close in ahead of Hurricane Katia's arrival

Path of destruction: Hurricane Katia's path and wind speed is charted here showing it heading across the Atlantic to the UK

Eye of the storm: Hurricane Katia looks set to batter the UK with winds of 80mph and sea swells reaching 50ft

Collision course: Satellite images show Katia was heading towards America but then altered course for Bermuda where there are expected to be tropical storms before it makes its way across the Atlantic