Storm Ciara: Train services and flights hit as clean-up gets under way
Storm Ciara brought travel disruption and left hundreds of homes and businesses without power.
Train passengers were urged to check before they travel after services were cancelled in the wake of Storm Ciara.
Services were cancelled along with more than a dozen flights due to land at Birmingham Airport.
Around 400 homes and businesses were without power and clean-up teams were clearing fallen trees today.
A house in Bilston was hit by one of the many trees brought down in the near 65mph gusts on Sunday.
The tree came crashing down in Watton Close leading to part of the road and pavement outside being blocked off.
Crews from West Midlands Fire Service were called along with a Wolverhampton Council team.
Meanwhile firefighters including a team from Oldbury, spent six hours tackling a tree which hit a house in Berwood Road, Sutton Coldfield.
They used a hydraulic platform and a chainsaw to remove the tree from the property.
No obvious structural damage was caused to the house, a spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said, but the a ground-floor roof was left damaged.
Meanwhile debris was left covering roads across the region, including in Bridgnorth where the local police praised the community for helping to clean up.
Storm brings travel disruption
Train passengers were warned to check before they travel after Storm Ciara hit services.
Services between Wolverhampton and Stafford were cancelled this morning due to fallen trees and debris.
It came after gusts brought down nine trees along the line including at Penkridge across the weekend.
Network Rail said the trees damaged overhead power cables and equipment on the line.
West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern services were cancelled with replacement buses set up.
Buses were also replacing bus services between Rugeley Trent Valley, Walsall and Cannock due to issues brought on by the storms.
Work to clear the line was completed by around 10.45am but West Midlands railway said services still faced delays of around 10 minutes.
Trees had fallen blocking roads across the West Midlands as the region stormy conditions overnight into today.
Flights arriving at Birmingham Airport were also cancelled this morning including two services from Dusseldorf and five from Frankfurt.
Services due to arrive from Amsterdam at around 12.50pm were also halted along with a Lufthansa flight from Munich.
A tree crashed to the ground just outside West Park in Wolverhampton, blocking the road.
The fallen tree blocked Park Road East after it fell yesterday afternoon.
Council workers were on the scene in just a few hours, to prioritise making sure the road was clear.
Trees also fell in Hickman Park and Claregate Park – prompting the local authority to close all parks across the city for the safety of the public.
Meanwhile around 400 homes and businesses in the West Midlands were without power after the heavy rain and strong winds overnight.
Western Power Distribution said supplies had been restored to some 115,000 properties yesterday.
As of 5am today UK Power Networks reported more than 18,500 properties across the east and southeast of England were still without power.
Parts of the UK continue to brace for blizzards and up to 20cm of snow in the wake of the storm, with travel disruption set to continue.
Some areas saw a month and a half's rainfall in just 24 hours and gusts of more than 90mph swept across the country on Sunday.
Meanwhile, 178 flood warnings in place across the country.
Latest weather forecast
A Met Office amber weather warning for wind, which had been in place across most of England, elapsed at 9pm on Sunday as Storm Ciara moved away.
But a yellow warning for wind remained in force for the whole UK until midnight, with strong winds, heavy showers, snow and ice expected on Monday.
WATCH the Met Office update here:
A yellow warning for wind in the south is in place between 10am and 5pm on Monday.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: "While Storm Ciara is clearing away, that doesn't mean we're entering a quieter period of weather.
"It's going to stay very unsettled.
"We have got colder air coming through the UK and will be feeling a real drop in temperatures, with an increased risk of snow in northern parts of the UK and likely in Scotland.
"There could be up to 20cm on Monday and Tuesday and with strong winds, blizzards aren't out of the question."
