Dark Hedges: Two 300-year-old trees made famous by Game of Thrones destroyed in Storm Arwen

Two of Northern Ireland's famed Dark Hedges trees have been destroyed by Storm Arwen.

The 300-year-old avenue of beeches draw Game of Thrones tourists from around the world to see the landmark featured in the hit HBO series.

Northern Ireland was battered by treacherous weather conditions over the weekend in the deadly storm.

One man died when a falling tree hit his car on Dublin Rd, County Antrim.

The storm began striking Northern Ireland on Friday, as it dumped heavy rain and snow in Scotland, and sent high speed winds sweeping across the UK.

On Friday night, two of the Dark Hedges' iconic trees were blown over in the winds.

The fallen trees briefly blocked the Bregagh Road, near Ballymoney in County Antrim.

The trees have since been cleared away and the road has been reopened by Monday following the weekend's storm.Wind speeds reached in excess of 70mph in some parts of Northern Ireland during Storm Arwen, which was the Met Office's first named storm of the year.

Much of the Game of Thrones was filmed in Northern Ireland, and the show's popularity had been credited for a surge in tourism interest in recent years before the pandemic struck.

The Dark Hedges are a popular tourist destination for fans of the show, who flock to the site to drive under the avenue of beech trees.

Several of the beeches, which were planted in the 18th-century, have previously been toppled in storms.

The 2009 the Dark Hedges Preservation Trust was set up in 2009 to look after the trees.