Woman's house blown down in winds

An overturned lorry closed the Redheugh bridge on Tyneside

A woman had a lucky escape when the side of her house was blown down as gusts of up to 83mph battered the north-east of England and Cumbria.

The house in Ivanhoe, Whitley Bay, crumbled onto the garage below. The woman was inside but unhurt.

The two main bridges between Gateshead and Newcastle were shut for a time as high winds caused chaos on Tuesday.

The Redheugh bridge was closed by an overturned lorry, and unsafe lampposts briefly shut the Tyne bridge.

The A1 was shut to high-sided vehicles at Stannington, near Morpeth, after another lorry overturned.

Police also closed part of Durham City centre after the roof of a university building was torn off.

Viaduct closed

Flying debris damaged nearby cars.

Road users in Gateshead and Newcastle faced big delays as police said an operation to recover the stricken lorries could not be undertaken until high winds eased.

A spokeswoman for Tyne and Wear Fire Brigade said almost 30 calls were received in a two-hour period until 1600 GMT on Tuesday, with reports of unsafe buildings and overhead cables.

In Durham, police said the city's Old Elvet area was expected to be closed until Wednesday.

The Newton Cap viaduct in Bishop Auckland was also closed to high-sided vehicles, because of gusting winds.

No serious injuries have yet been reported.