Heathrow cancels 110 flights as tail-end of Hurricane Gonzalo

21 Oktyabr 2014 16:35 | 1 203

Britain has been battered by the tail end of Hurricane Gonzalo this morning as high winds and heavy rain brought delays on rails, roads, and caused Heathrow to cancel 10 per cent of flights.

The disruption has hit the 20 biggest airlines serving the west London airport, with 110 flights cancelled as poor weather reduced the number of planes allowed to land.

A flood warning has been issued for part of the Norfolk coast as hundreds of homes in Scotland, Wales and Cornwall were left without power.

Rail commuters experienced disruption across the south this morning as Southeastern Trains and South West Trains warned of part-cancellations and delays of around ten minutes blaming 'poor rail conditions' and 'poor track adhesion'.

On the roads, there was heavy traffic on most motorways and A roads across the UK, while a section of the A1(M) in Cambridgeshire was closed due to an overturned lorry.

A Heathrow spokesman said: 'Please check your flight status with your airline before coming to the airport and leave extra time for your journey to and from the airport.'

British Airways, which has already cancelled flights between Amsterdam and London, added: 'Much of the UK and Northern Europe will experience high winds and heavy rain on Tuesday as a result of the tail-end of Hurricane Gonzalo.

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On the railways, signalling problems led to delays to all routes through Sydenham in south east London. This affected passengers travelling with the London Overground, Southern and Thameslink train companies.

To add to passengers' difficulties, a broken-down freight train led to delays between Crewe and Shrewsbury, while an obstruction on the line near Little Sutton in Cheshire caused hold-ups between Ellesmere Port and Hooton.

Gusts of 70mph have already been recorded in Malin Head, Northern Ireland this morning, while winds have also hit 60mph in St Bees Head, Cumbria.

The strongest winds this morning have been around Needles Old Battery on the Isle of Wight as speeds topped 70mph, at 6am. The heaviest rainfall has been in Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands, where one and a half inches of rain fell.

Parts of Gwynedd, Perthshire, Cumbria, and Lancashire also saw heavy rain, with more than an inch falling in each location. The average for the whole of October is 3.5inches.