'Brighter weekend' after storms

Strong winds caused chaos across the UK

Stormy weather has continued to cause chaos in parts of the UK but brighter conditions are ahead, forecasters say.

Winds reached 65 to 70mph on Friday, causing further disruption in parts of Scotland and north England, the BBC's Weather Centre said.

One man has been killed and several are missing as a result of the extreme weather and sea coastguards have dealt with several stricken ships.

Forecasters say winds will die down and Sunday will bring brighter weather.

Parts of Britain are beginning to count the cost of the severe storms, which have hit a number of areas.

I was stupid enough to get my car stuck in flood water on the way to work this morning Phil Lewin In pictures: UK storms

One man was killed after a tree fell on his car in Somerset while a search for a woman swept overboard from a cargo ship off Cornwall has been called off.

About 80,000 homes in Wales were left without power and in Scotland engineers dealt with 60 power line faults.

Uprooted trees and flooding have also caused chaos on roads and bridges.

Forecasters said that while winds for most of the UK will die down overnight on Friday, some parts of the country may continue to suffer flooding from further heavy rain.

BBC weather forecaster John Hammond said: "The high winds will continue for the rest of Friday, but will ease in the evening. Saturday will not be as windy.

"But Saturday will bring heavy rain to Scotland and Northern Ireland - and with rivers already full, that is the real concern now."

He added that Sunday will be a better day with "bright and breezy" weather.

Towed to safety

Meanwhile, a 4,500-tonne ship which narrowly missed two gas platforms in the North Sea is now under tow, the Coastguard has said.

The vessel broke down in bad weather on Thursday, with a cargo of 4,200 tonnes of fertiliser.

The Vindo was drifting towards the Murdoch gas platform, 75 miles off the Lincolnshire coast, near Theddlethorpe St Helen.

But the crew managed to steer the vessel to avoid causing a maritime disaster.