13/03/2008 00:00:00
High winds have thrown travel plans into chaos across England. Flights have been experiencing difficulties in the north west of England as BBC News reports severe gales blowing at up to 80mph.
Several planes have been obliged to circle around Manchester Airport due to the gusts and flights at the Liverpool John Lennon Airport have experienced delays of up to an hour.
England's high winds have been causing chaos on the ground too with a number of train services affected. Many services from London Euston to Manchester have been cancelled or delayed and travellers can expect delays of up to an hour on all Virgin Trains' services due to a blanket 50mph speed restriction north of Rugby.
The London to Glasgow rail services will be running with heavy delays.
Travellers should also be aware of road closures across England. The M6 Thelwell Viaduct near Warrington, for instance, saw three lorries overturned by the strong winds and was subsequently partially closed for several hours.
Cheshire and Merseyside have also suffered the uprooting of numerous trees, but police said that advance warning allowed them and the council to ensure teams were in place to deal with them immediately.
Hampshire police warned of the possibility of flooding on the A3 and Inspector Mike Kynaston of Dorset told the BBC that potential travellers in the area should only attempt essential journeys. "Unless your journey is absolutely essential I would not travel, and if you are travelling do so with extreme caution," he said.