York and North Yorkshire are being battered by Storm Malik, bringing winds of up to 80mph.
Trees have been brought down by the gale. One was blocking Fulford Road at Germany Beck in York, causing traffic jams, but has now been cleared.
Another tree came down across Monkgate, falling from the YorSexual Health Centre. It caused traffic delays. City of York Council workers cut it up with a chainsaw
York police said: “Please be careful while moving around York today. There are trees down in various areas of the city and traffic is affected.
“Police, York City Council and Fire & Rescue Services are attending various incidents. Please take care and stay safe!”
An 80ft conifer crashed down in Haxby, hitting part of a bungalow and flattening the garden.
“I heard one hell of a bang at 2am but couldn’t see anything and went back to bed,” said the home owner Nigel Holland.
“Normally I sleep with the window open but closed it last night. It’s a good job because otherwise the branches would have come through the window.”
It was only in the daylight that the full scale of what had happened emerged – the huge tree has obliterated much of Nigel’s garden.
Fortunately it only caught the edge of the house, damaging the guttering.
Lucky no one hurt
Nigel, 67, an award-winning photographer who worked on the York Press and other newspapers, says the huge conifer means he can’t get out of his kitchen door.
“Luckily no one was out there when it happened,” he said.
It was also fortunate that the tree – which was next to the railway line in Haxby – didn’t fall across the track.
It smashed fencing panels and snapped a smaller tree in his garden.
Nigel has reported the incident to Network Rail and is waiting to hear back from them
Van destroyed
A tree has also crashed down onto a van in Lindsey Avenue, Holgate.
It has damaged some garages and destroyed the Ford van. Fortunately no one was inside the vehicle at the time.
It came down early this morning.
In Clifton Moor, the wind blew panels off the roof of the Mercedes-Benz showroom. They crashed down to the ground narrowly missing parked cars.
The fire service was called in to make checks, and later roofing contractors were on the scene.
In York city centre, an area around Boots Opticians on Parliament Street was cordoned off due to loose tiles on the roof. The shop stayed open though.
Many traders have closed early at Shambles Market too:
And here’s another view of the city centre:
And this tree is down in Woodthorpe:
The high winds have caused problems elsewhere in the county. A tree was blocking the B6161 near Harrogate this morning but has now been cleared, according to Sgt Paul Cording of North Yorkshire Police.
Similarly a tree that came down across part of the A6108 near Lightwater Valley has now gone “thanks to some sterling work from a local resident & his trusty chainsaw”.
Yellow weather warnings are in place across all of northern England for most of Saturday as Storm Malik brings high winds and rain.
The Met Office warned: “Injuries and danger to life could occur from flying debris as well as from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.”
The weather is also causing problems on the railways. No trains are now running north of Newcastle on the East Coast Main Line, and there are problems for Northern rail passengers too: