Weather: Christmas Travel Plans Hit By Storms

Fire crews have rescued around 25 people from cars trapped in flood water in Dorset as severe weather batters the UK.

Dorset fire control said rescuers helped get people out of stranded vehicles in the Sturminster, Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sherborne and Wimborne areas.

In Shropshire, a woman was killed and a man seriously hurt in a car crash which happened in "difficult weather conditions".

The south of the country will have some respite from the stormy weather but parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland are still being battered by strong gales and heavy rains.

Engineers are working to restore power to as many as 150,000 homes across the country, with no guarantee the lights will be back on in time for Christmas Day.

At midday, Network Rail (NR) reported that most of the train network was running again but some lines are still affected by flooding, debris and power supply problems, particularly in the West Country.

Fire crews rescued motorists from cars Pic: Dorset Fire and Rescue Service

NR added that more than 200 trees had come down on lines during the last 24 hours and there had been "a further 100 major incidents discovered on top of that".

NR asked for passengers' patience and said in southern England the storm damage had been greater than that of the 'St Jude's Storm' a few weeks ago.

Customers are being advised to check the latest travel situation before starting their journeys.

A power outage at Gatwick's north terminal has added more misery for people trying to travel this Christmas.

All flights due to depart after 1pm from the north terminal will now operate from south terminal, excluding British Airways.

Flights scheduled to arrive in North Terminal will continue to do so.

Passengers have taken to Twitter to complain - firstly, that there were too few announcements, and secondly, that the announcements that were made were inaudible.

One angry traveller said on Twitter: "@Gatwick--Airport is a disaster zone. Power failed, no computers and baggage cannot get to planes. Floors covered with people."

The departures board at Waterloo station shows dozens of cancelled trains

A Gatwick spokesperson said: "The cause of the power outages - flooding from the River Mole into airfield substations and North Terminal - is related to the heavy rain overnight and fixes for the issues are being progressed as quickly as possible.

"Gatwick would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to some passengers today and we are working hard to keep disruption to a minimum."

The fatal crash in Shropshire happened near Shrewsbury just after 9.30pm on Monday.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said in a statement: "Weather conditions at the time were very difficult.

"On arrival, crews found three cars at the scene. Firefighters were undertaking life support on a woman in one of the cars.

Flooded tracks in West Horndon, Essex, show the challenge facing rail firms

"Sadly despite all efforts, it was not possible to save her and she was confirmed dead at the scene. A man from the same car was assessed but was uninjured.

"A man in his 30s from a second car was trapped for over half an hour. He had suffered facial, hip and leg injuries. A woman in the third car was uninjured."

Five teenagers were also hurt in a separate incident after their car rolled over in "wet and windy" weather conditions north of Wolverhampton, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

Some 900 passengers were stuck on the Spirit of Britain ferry outside Dover for 15 hours as it was considered too risky to enter the harbour.

The ship left Calais last night and managed to dock safely at around 7.30am.

Families in Edenbridge, Kent, say water levels are rising in their street

Shortly before the ship reached Dover, Digvijay Rathod told Sky News: "Many people haven't slept. I have 53 people to take care of. There are mothers, there are children who have been sick.

"It's been a tough night - people just want to get home. We left Calais at 4pm and we were supposed to reach here within two hours.

"It was really choppy. Things were falling out of shelves, people were not able to stand properly. We were instructed to be seated and not move around. People were panicking a bit."

With the worst of the storms now likely to affect Scotland and Northern Ireland, the severe weather has caused four deaths.

The Environment Agency has issued hundreds of flood warnings across all of England and Wales, with a severe flood warning - the highest level warning of danger to life - in the South West, where properties are expected to flood.

Passengers on a Calais to Dover ferry spent a miserable 15 hours at sea

People travelling on First Great Western's service from London Paddington to Devon and Cornwall were left stranded at Taunton in Somerset shortly before 1am because of flooding and signal problems.

Passengers described delays after leaving London before the service was terminated at Taunton with First Great Western then having to put people on buses and taxis to get them to their destination.

Tim Field from the Energy Networks Association told Sky News that it was not possible to promise that power would be restored to homes cut off by the storm in time for Christmas Day.

He said: "We've been able to restore about 60,000 properties yesterday evening and last night but with the storms that have come in, people are waking up this morning to find themselves without power.

"We've been facing some very difficult conditions. Fallen trees have brought down power lines and blocked roads, which has affected engineers' progress."

The RNLI released dramatic footage of dog rescue at sea

The RNLI released footage of the rescue of a Labrador swept out to sea and thought by its owner to be dead.

The pair had been out walking when it went into the waters off Sea Palling, on the north Norfolk coast, and was taken away by the tide.

The Environment Agency Flood Line can be contacted on 0845 988 1188 for advice and up to date information.

Christmas Day is expected to be calmer with just a few wintry showers in the north and west, while Boxing Day looks mainly fine, but stormy conditions look set to return on Friday.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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