70mph winds to cause travel chaos

WINDS of up to 70mph will blast in from the Atlantic this weekend.

Combined with surging tides, they could put lives at risk, forecasters are warning. Coastal areas of southern England and south and west Wales will suffer the strongest gusts, beginning at 4am on Saturday.

The as-yet unnamed storm is likely to bring travel chaos and topple trees. With high tides also expected, there will be huge waves along seafronts and the Environment Agency warned against trying to take ‘storm selfies’, due to the risk of being swept away.

Met Office chief forecaster Frank Saunders said: ‘Gusts exceeding 50mph are expected widely within the warning area, with gusts of around 70mph along exposed coastal areas. These are expected to coincide with high tides, leading to locally dangerous conditions.’

The Met Office said there will be ‘an obvious potential risk to travellers’, with windy conditions lasting until midnight on Saturday.

The storm is the result of an intense low pressure system coming in from the south west.