Severe weather

There is a severe weather warning in place for southern England, as winds up to 80 mph are expected to strike the region overnight. Meanwhile, heavy snow has closed a cross-border road between England and Scotland, the A68, at Carter Bar. In Cumbria, police have pleaded with drivers not to travel, as some roads have become impassable due to snow and abandoned vehicles. Current weather radar shows very heavy rain and snow over southern Scotland moving north, with the boundary barely 10 miles of Stornoway. Snow is expected to move into Highland Scotland in the next few hours.

A car carrier, the Figaro, is presently heading east up the English Channel, bound for Zeebrugge for repairs. The 55,000 tonne vessel was sailing to Bristol, when she was hit by a huge wave. The impact triggered the ship's CO2-based fire-extinguishing system, closing down all power. For a couple of hours, the ship drifted near Wolf Rock in the English Channel before engines were restarted. The nearest port, Falmouth, was already full, so a decision was taken to divert the Figaro to Zeebrugge in Belgium.