Britain braced for gales

Forecasters said people should brace themselves for "unusual summer weather" with high-wind storms and heavy rains.

John Hutchinson, of the Press Association's weather forecasters Meteogroup, said the weather would be at its worst in north-west England, Wales and the lower parts of Scotland.

He said: "There will be a low pressure area across Ireland today that will move north-east across Scotland and because of that we are expecting strong winds.

"There will be gusts of wind at 50-60mph across northern England and possibly 65mph in the most exposed places.

"This sort of weather is not unusual in the winter but it is in the summer.

"It is at that level where it can start affecting things a bit.

"It is not at the level where things go particularly mad but one extra factor in summer is the trees are in leaf so there is a greater chance of trees blowing down than if it happened in the winter."

Southern Scotland has seen the worst of the heavy rain, with 38mm falling in Dundrennan, on the south-western coast of Scotland, between 6pm and midnight.

Mr Hutchinson added: "The winds will die down from this afternoon into the evening with the weather expected to be largely fine on Monday with much lighter winds and just a few showers over northern parts."