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Saturday, 22 March 2008, 14:13 GMT

North battered by gales and snow

High waves at Tynemouth High winds and snow have brought chaos to the North East and Cumbria, with roads closed and buildings damaged.

The A66 transpennine route was closed at Bowes in County Durham for several hours because of snow and stranded lorries on the Cumbrian border.

Parked cars were swamped by wind-swept waves at Redcar promenade.

And 1,000 Derby County fans visiting Middlesbrough Football Club's ground had to be reseated, after a stadium stand suffered overnight damage.

In Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, a cordon was set up after scaffolding collapsed near a hotel.

There have so far been no reports of injuries, but forecasters are warning of significant falls of snow and continuing high winds over the next 24 hours.

Crashing waves

A spokesman for Durham Police said the A66 had become impassable at Bowes. He added that snow had also fallen near Consett and warned motorists to take extra care.

Coastguard officials said some onlookers had strayed too close to crashing waves at Redcar and urged people to stay away from seafront areas.

On Tyneside, both Tynemouth and Whitley Bay suffered when winds gusting up to 50mph sent waves crashing over sea walls.

A cordon was set up near the Rex Hotel in Whitley Bay, when scaffolding collapsed, damaging some vehicles. Council engineers and contractors are assessing the situation.

Some roads in Ulverston in the Lake District were closed on Saturday, when roof slates were ripped from roofs in high winds.

Almost 150 households were left without power in villages near Hexham in Northumberland.

Strong winds brought down power lines affecting people in Stonehaugh, Humshaugh, Simonburn and Wark.




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Related to this story:
Storm floods threat scaled down (10 Mar 08 |  Cumbria )
Rain and high winds battering UK (10 Mar 08 |  UK )
Satellite images of storm (09 Mar 08 |  In Pictures )
In pictures: Stormy UK weather (02 Feb 08 |  In Pictures )
Wild weather around Britain (01 Feb 08 |  UK )

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Environment Agency - flood warnings
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