COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Fierce winds left an area of east Warwickshire looking like the scene of a disaster movie after a farm building was blown into power lines.



The double door wooden building, believed to be a small barn or stable, was lifted into the air by gusts of wind which are reported to have topped 60mph.

The incident occurred near Dunsmore Home Farm, in Lilbourne Road, near Clifton-upon-Dunsmore shortly before 2pm yesterday.

Police officers described the scene as resembling that of a movie with loud bangs and sparks flying from the damaged power lines and showering the road below.

The road was closed for several hours while an engineer from Western Power isolated the electricity supply and debris was cleared. The high winds and rain caused further travel disruption across Coventry and Warwickshire. Trees uprooted by severe gusts of wind were a major cause of delays with roads closed across the region.

Affected stretches included parts of the A5; the Southam Road, in Ufton and Brandon lane, in Coventry, was also closed in both directions due to a fallen tree.

Further delays were caused by accidents on the southbound carriageway of the A46, at the A4177 near Warwick; and on Hillmorton Road, in Rugby.

Those travelling around Birmingham Airport also faced disruption as flooding forced the closure of one lane on the M42 entry slip road northbound at junction six.

People travelling across the country to reach home for Christmas faced “quite severe” disruption as strong gales and torrential rain caused travel chaos – with one transport boss saying “It won’t be an easy task”.

Severe weather warnings were in place for much of the UK, threatening to cause localised flooding across southern England and Wales.

Strong winds were expected, with speeds of up to 80mph in coastal areas of southern England, while Scotland is set to see some snowfall, the Met Office said.

The Department for Transport said the unsettled spell of weather will continue for the rest of the week.

Emma Compton, a forecaster at the Met Office, said: “The disruption to transport could be quite severe.”

Villages issued with flood warning



Eight villages in Warwickshire have been issued with flood warnings as the River Stour rises and heavy rain continues to fall across the county.

The flood warnings have been issued for Shipston, Tredington, Halford, Clifford Chambers, Ailstone, Alderminster, Preston-on-Stour and Newbold.

The weather is also affecting rail services between the county and London.

Floods forced Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary to close, where rain leaked through an aviary roof.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "Motorists are advised not to drive through water. Two feet of water is enough to float a car".

A spokeswoman for Chiltern Railways, which operates trains between Warwickshire and London, said "flooding and damage to rail infrastructure" in the south of the country were to blame for service delays.

Warwickshire flood warnings downgraded

Flood warnings for Warwickshire have been downgraded after the weather was forecasted to improve over the weekend.

Paths and car parks had been flooded along stretches of the River Stour.

Shipston, Tredington, Halford, Clifford Chambers, Ailstone, Alderminster, Preston-on-Stour and Newbold all saw flood warnings earlier in the week, but have since seen river levels drop.

The Environment Agency said generally the situation seemed to be improving across the West Midlands.

The Met Office said only a few showers were expected across Coventry and Warwickshire over the weekend.

The north west of England and north Wales are expected to face the worst of the gales and rain.

Speed restrictions disrupted Virgin Trains services through Coventry and Warwickshire throughout much of Friday, put in place by Network Rail due to bad weather.