Flood warnings as thousands without power after Storm Darragh

Tens of thousands of homes remain without power and flood warnings continue in the wake of Storm Darragh.

Two men died when trees fell on their vehicles in separate incidents during the storm over the weekend, which caused power outages and significant disruption to travel.

Train operators have warned disruption is set to continue on the rail network.

Across England and Wales, 34 flood warnings remain in force because of recent heavy rain from the storm, although the weather on Monday is expected to be dry for most.

A Lancashire man, named locally as Paul Fiddler, was killed when a tree fell on his van on Saturday.

A football coach at Lytham Town FC, Mr Fiddler was described by the club as a “legend” and “true friend” who was “well loved”.

In a separate incident, Kher Hussain Shahin was named by Birmingham city councillor Majid Mahmood as the man who was killed by a falling tree on Saturday afternoon in Birmingham.

Mr Mahmood paid tribute to Mr Shahin and said his thoughts and prayers were with his family. West Midlands police have not yet confirmed the man’s identity.

The Energy Networks Association, which represents energy networks in the UK, said as about 66,000 customers were without power across Great Britain of 12:00 on Monday.

The association said 97% of customers affected had been reconnected, with the south and south-west of England and Wales being the main affected areas.

National Grid said on Monday morning that 31,972 properties were without power across south and mid Wales, with Scottish Power reporting 9,845 outages in areas covered by its network.

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said as of 07:00 on Monday about 1,500 homes remained without power after Storm Darragh. Electricity has been restored to more than 92,000 homes, after sustained high gusts caused the power cuts.

Affected residents are being offered warm drinks and charging facilities at community centres.

Flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – remain in force, with 34 in England and two in Wales.

There are 120 flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in England and 12 in Wales.

National Rail said disruption will continue for some services.

Passengers have been warned to expect cancellations and delays to train services on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Scotland.

Buses are replacing trains between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.

Damage to overhead electric wires means there are no trains on the line serving Bromsgrove, Redditch and Birmingham New Street, and Lichfield Trent Valley.

There are also disruptions on some Great Western Railway Routes. Transport for Wales are advising against travelling on certain routes.

Chris Baughan, Network Rail’s West Coast South route operations manager, said: “Storm Darragh has wreaked havoc on the railway this weekend and we are very sorry to passengers for the disruption to train services this morning on the West Coast Main Line as frontline teams continue with emergency repairs and the clean-up.”

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told the BBC on Sunday: “We saw two people have lost their lives and there has been major disruption.”

“I know the energy secretary has been speaking about the power cuts and has been making sure that people have the power, and my thoughts are with those who have had that disruption.”

The weather on Monday will be settled, dry and bright in the north, with wintry sunshine.

Further south, it will be breezier with bright spells and variable cloud.

But for most, it will be dry with the odd light shower for southern England.