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UK storm leaves thousands of homes without power

Thousands of homes are without power in southwest England, Wales and Ireland after winds of up to 92mph hit and heavy rain fell in many areas.

With nine severe flood warnings in place and transport networks in some areas seriously affected by weather, David Cameron announced he would be holding a crisis meeting on the situation.

"I'll be chairing COBRA today to ensure all that can be done is being done over the latest storms, flooding and power cuts," he tweeted.
He later tweeted that the Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson  "is doing an excellent job".

Hundreds of Western Power Distribution staff have been working to restore power to homes in the South West. Downing Street says up to 8,000 are still without electricity, down from around 44,000.

The company's Phil Davies told Sky News: "There are still lots of problems out there, we are still working at it and we are importing staff from Wales and the Midlands."

In Ireland, 20,000 homes were left without power, now down to 8,000, as the second city, Cork, was inundated for the third time in five days.

In Dawlish, between Exeter and Cornwall, a section of seawall under the coastal railway line collapsed and two people had to be rescued from a car. The line has been closed.

Residents were evacuated from 30 flooded houses in Kingsand, Cornwall, and Tamar Coastguard Rescue Team helped rescue "a number of people".

Homes were evacuated on the seafront at Torcross in Devon, as the high tide smashed the fronts of four properties, and restaurants of Plymouth seafront were damaged.

There are also reports that the Watering Hole pub in Perranporth, Cornwall, is at risk of being swept away.

The elements took their toll on Brighton's disused West Pier, which has been crumbling for years but saw a "significant section of the pavilion island skeleton" collapse last night.

Rachel Clark, chief executive of the West Pier Trust, which owns it, said: "There have been collapses for several weeks as we've had the high winds, but this is more significant and obvious."

High winds warning in force along the south coast (Map: Met Office)

Forecasters say that heavy rain and gale force winds will continue to bring travel disruption and flooding to coastal areas over the next few days.
Jeff Penhaligon, harbourmaster at East Looe in Cornwall, told Sky News the storm was "really hammering at the moment".

Both East and West Looe took a battering overnight and were now awaiting a mid morning high tide.

He warned people to keep away from the waves, saying: "The sea is horrendous. Watch it by all means but stay well back."

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning, with southern and western areas of the UK and the east coast of Ireland most at risk.

Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said: "Eighty-mile-per-hour gusts are possible for areas surrounding the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea and the English Channel."

A wind speed of 92mph was recorded on the Isles of Scilly last night while 91mph was recorded at Berry Head in Devon and 80mph gusts were recorded there this morning.

First Great Western Trains has advised passengers not to travel west of Exeter St Davids station because of the "major" track damage at Dawlish.

Southeastern has also imposed a 40mph speed limit on parts of its network until Wednesday evening.

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