UK weather: Heavy rain and strong winds leave passengers stranded amid travel chaos
Ferries, planes and trains delayed or cancelled due to adverse conditions
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Your support makes all the difference.Heavy rain and strong winds heaped further misery on travellers across the UK in the 24 hours after a major power cut caused widespread disruption.
Rail passengers were left stranded as flooding forced the closure of the West Coast Mainline between England and Scotland for several hours on Saturday afternoon.
Fallen trees also caused lengthy delays to train services across the country.
Meanwhile ferries heading into Dover were delayed by up to five hours as tug boats battled the weather to bring them into port.
P&O Ferries said adverse weather had disrupted scheduling, and promised to get passengers on the first available vessel.
One passenger reported floating outside Dover for thee-and-a-half hours along with five other ferries waiting for permission to dock.
“We should have arrived in Dover 11.15am local time but we got off the boat at 4pm,” said Stephen Deadman, from Nottingham.
“It was a quick journey across Channel but we stopped four miles from Dover.”
Mr Deadman, who was returning from Europe with his family after a two-week holiday, added: “At one point there were five boats waiting. The wind was very bad and the captains of the ferry and tug boats did a great job in difficult conditions.”
Drivers were also advised to check routes carefully before they travelled due to thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds across England, Wales and Scotland.
Five trains were trapped between Lockerbie and Carlisle when heavy overnight rain caused flooding of the tracks.
Network Rail tweeted images of the rails under water at around midday on Saturday as it confirmed the West Coast Mainline was closed.
The track was reopened – initially with a 5mph speed restriction – a few hours later but passengers were warned their train might be delayed or cancelled.
There was also flooding between Blackburn and Clitheroe, causing blockages to the lines on Saturday evening.
Several other lines were disrupted due to trees on the track, including Ashford International and Hastings, Guildford and Reading, Newbury and Westbury and between Ipswich and Lowestoft.
Network Rail has urged passengers to check for updates before they travel.
Severe weather was also blamed for long delays and dozens of cancellations on flights to and from airports in southeast England.
The latest disruption came after a power cut left almost a million people without electricity as traffic lights were knocked out, trains came to a standstill and aircraft were grounded during rush hour.
Further rain is expected overnight in northern England and Scotland, where a yellow weather warning for rain is in force until 10am on Sunday.
Elsewhere the weather is expected to improve throughout Sunday, with sunny spells and scattered showers forecast for Monday and Tuesday.
Additonal reporting by Press Association
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