St Jude Storm: 140,000 homes without power in England and Wales

Around 140,000 homes are without power as St Jude storm continues to batter parts of England and Wales.

According to specialists, St Jude storm could be one of the worst storms since 1987.

Rail services across much of southern Britain have been cancelled for the morning rush hour.

The M4 Second Severn crossing has reopened but the M48 Severn Bridge is still closed, while 130 flights have been cancelled at Heathrow airport.

The Met Office said a gust of 99mph was recorded at Needles Old Battery, Isle of Wight, at 05:00 GMT.

The Environment Agency has issued 17 flood warnings – all in south-west England, there are also 152 flood alerts across England and Wales.

Tracy Elsey, from UK Power Networks, said 40,000 households were without power in its south-east region from Brighton to Kent – and 100,000 in its east of England region, from Essex to the north Norfolk coast.

“The power lines are hit by trees coming down in the wind and branches touching overhead lines and any other debris whipped up by the wind overnight,” she said.

Robin Gisby, network operations managing director for Network Rail, said more than 40 railway line blockages caused by falling trees have been cleared, but more are expected to be found by special trains being used to clear tracks.

He said: “In four cases the train being sent through to inspect the line has hit a fallen tree and we have one train in Devon which is currently disabled following a collision with a fallen tree. We are also dealing with a landslip in the New Forest area.”

Robin Gisby added: “As the storm passes from west to east, we will be carrying out safety assessments as quickly as possible to clear routes and get trains running safely.

“We now expect to start services into Waterloo before 09.00 GMT. Routes from Sussex, Kent and Anglia will follow. Services elsewhere into London are running but at reduced capacity and speed.”