Pictures of the weather around the UK show this is what the Met Office meant by wet and windy

This was the scene around the UK yesterday as gale force storms battered Britain, bringing chaos to roads and rail and threatening homes with more floods.

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Power and the glory: The seafront at Selsey, West Sussex. yesterday. A child was nearly swept out to sea after being knocked down

Winds hit hurricane speeds of 77mph in the South-West, while a combination of powerful gusts and high seas made seafronts and coastal paths treacherous.

In Selsey, West Sussex, daytrippers dodged the waves as the storms sent icy sprays 60ft into the air.

At one point a child was knocked to the ground and came close to being swept out to sea.

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A novel way of travelling around between Shirwell and Loxhore in north Devon as floods make roads almost impassable

Strong winds: Laura Dingley (10, right) and Abigail Dingley (9) get a soaking as they walk along the seafront at Southsea, Hampshire

The worst of the weather hit the South-West of England and South Wales yesterday morning, with rooftops damaged, tiles loosened and trees uprooted.

Although the winds were expected to die down last night, the Environment Agency still had ten flood warnings in force. Some homes at risk have yet to be fully repaired after the summer floods.

The strongest winds were on the Isles of Scilly, where gusts reached 83mph.

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The wind whips the water up rocks at a small bay by the village of Trefin, near St Davids in west Wales as a lone figure cowers at the side

A Met Office spokesman said: "There were gusts of 77mph in Cornwall, and 68mph in Plymouth."

It was a weekend of misery on road and rail, while cross channel ferries between Dover and Calais were suspended on Saturday because of massive swells.

Emergency services in Devon and Somerset had at least 100 calls to flash floods, while in Dorset firemen rescued three people whose car became stuck in Bradpole, Bridport.

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A river runs through it - and a car near St Germans in Cornwall tries to pass too

In Wales roads and rail services were closed. Two men aged 31 and 43 died when their cars collided in heavy rain at Llantrisant, Mid Glamorgan.

Around 20 families who had been evacuated from their homes in Maesteg, near Bridgend, after rain swept away a road were allowed to return yesterday.

The storm batters defences at the marina in Brighton, East Sussex