Gales and snow batter Britain

Gales and snow caused disruption and battered parts of Britain as winds of up to 65mph swept through southern parts of England.

Police forces reported closed roads due to snow on Sunday, while others said they had been called to a number of fallen trees.

The Queen Elizabeth II bridge across the Thames at the Dartford crossing was closed due to strong winds, while Highways England warned drivers of delays on the M25 as traffic was filtered into Kent using one of the tunnels which is usually used for Essex-bound traffic.

Kent County Council urged motorists to take care on the roads in “difficult conditions” as its highway teams worked to clear fallen trees as quickly as possible.

Essex Police said they had experienced “extremely high call demand” because of the weather and warned motorists to travel only where “absolutely necessary”.

Wrapping on Grenfell Tower in London was dislodged as support group Grenfell United tweeted: “If you’re in area u may have noticed some damage to the wrapping on the tower this is because of strong winds. A team is onsite at the moment who will put a temp cover as soon as safe to do so before replacing damaged part later this week.”

Devon and Cornwall Police tweeted: “Police receiving exceptional number of calls from right across Devon and Cornwall re fallen trees across roads this morning due to the high winds. Please reduce speed and be vigilant when driving.”

The Woodhead Pass in the Pennines was closed because of snow and a collision, South Yorkshire Police said, while Leicestershire Police said the fast lane of the M1 between junctions 22 and 23 was “unsafe” due to snowfall.

Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District was fully closed due to “hazardous weather conditions”, said Cumbria Police. The force added that motorists should take care with snow and ice reported in some parts of the county.

After a slight reprieve in conditions expected on Monday, the wild weather is expected to make a return towards the middle of the week.

The Met Office has issued two further yellow weather warnings for wind, the first of which covers much of Northern Ireland, and will begin at 3pm on Tuesday and last until midnight.

Another is in place for much of England from around midnight on Wednesday until 3pm.

During the warning periods, across Northern Ireland there could be gusts of 60mph-70mph, with 50mph-55mph seen quite widely across England and 60mph-65mph in coastal areas.

A band of heavy rain will also push south-eastwards, and will be followed by some heavy showers during Tuesday and Wednesday.