Storm Antoni sees gusts of 78mph as fallen trees block 100 miles of railway

ITV News' Lewis Warner reports from Bournemouth

Storm Antoni saw 78mph winds hit the UK and trees blown down – blocking 100 miles of railway between Exeter and Penzance. A 'danger to life' amber weather warning had been in place for southwestern areas of both England and Wales until 7pm.

Severe road and rail disruption was reported in the South West, the Met Office said, and about half a month’s worth of rain fell on parts of the UK.

A yellow thunderstorm warning was in place until 10pm in south east England and East Anglia and in south east Scotland, a yellow rain warning was in place until 4pm.

A number of people were evacuated from their homes in North Yorkshire due to flooding after heavy rain. Cleveland Police said residents in Loftus and Carlin How were forced to leave their homes and the fire service and local authority are supporting those affected.

Extreme weather conditions have been causing flash flooding along parts of the Yorkshire coastline

And eight people were evacuated from their homes in Clontarf, Dublin, due to flooding, Dublin Fire Brigade said.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said gusts of 78mph were measured at Berry Head in Devon and 43mm of rain fell in Scarborough, North Yorkshire – almost half of August’s average rainfall. He added that Great Western Railway had warned passengers not to travel between Exeter and Penzance due to the number of trees which had fallen on the tracks and a number of roads had also been blocked in Devon and Cornwall. “The rain is still ongoing at the moment, there’s still a fair bit of thunder and rain, particularly across northern England and East Anglia,” Mr Partridge added. “There has been some localised flooding. The storm is going to clear through this evening, it will pretty much all be gone by midnight.”

Sunday is set to be brighter and less windy with no weather warnings in place, with temperatures up to 22C in the south.

And temperatures will start to rise next week, reaching a peak of 27C or 28C on Thursday in the south east, highs that have not been seen in the UK since June, the forecaster added.

The weather has also forced organisers of outdoor events scheduled to take place this weekend to cancel their plans.

Eliot Walker, organiser of the annual Dorset jazz festival, Stompin’ On The Quomps, said he was “disappointed” he had to postpone this year’s event due to Storm Antoni.

The free festival in Christchurch Quay was forced to cancel its activities for the first time in its 30-year history.

Mr Walker, 44, said: “We’re really disappointed that the town can’t come together to enjoy a wonderful day listening to professional jazz and big bands by the side of the river on the picturesque quay.”

Around 10,000 people had been expected to attend on Saturday.

Likewise, hundreds of music lovers with tickets to Newcastle's Loose Fest were told the festival was cancelled just hours before it was due to start.

The event, which had the likes of Craig David and Jax Jones on the line-up, was due to take place on Saturday and Sunday.

In Essex, Colchester’s opening game of the new League Two season against Swindon was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

The match was called off less than 30 minutes before the scheduled 3pm kick-off following a pitch inspection at the JobServe Community Stadium, with the region having been hit by heavy rain.

The popular Brighton Pride was also impacted by the dreary weather, but the parade went ahead as its organisers vowed the rain and wind "won't be stopping us".

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