Strong winds and heavy rain as Storm Babet hits Wigan

The UK is being battered by the storm, with amber warnings for wind and rain issued for parts of northern England, the Midlands and northern Wales from noon on Friday to 6am on Saturday.

The situation is particularly severe in Scotland, where a woman died when she was swept into a river on Thursday and 400 homes have been evacuated.

The storm reached Wigan in the early hours and there are forecast to be winds at speeds of more than 40mph throughout the day.

The Environment Agency says there is a “low risk” of flooding in the borough, but that it is “possible that overflowing rivers and runoff from rainfall or blocked drains will cause properties and roads to flood”.

People should be particularly careful in areas prone to flooding, such as Robin Retail Park in Wigan and Mort Lane in Tyldesley.

Fire crews in Wigan were not called to any storm-related incidents overnight, but they are prepared to take action if needed.

Network Rail has warned of travel disruption in the North West over the coming days.

Its extreme weather action teams are on standby to tackle any problems at key locations on the West Coast main line, North West and Cumbrian rail routes.

This includes monitoring areas which could see flash flooding of tracks or trees being blown onto the network causing disruption.

People living by the railway are being advised to tether down any loose items in their gardens, like furniture, fencing and trampolines, which can be blown onto tracks.