Britain is battered by hurricane-force winds, leaving 2,300 homes without power, blowing over lorries and forcing planes to abort their landings - and the Big Chill is on its way!

Winds approaching 100mph battered parts of Britain today as the country suffered power cuts and travel chaos. More than 2,000 homes lost power in the North East while a lorry blew over on the Forth Bridge near Edinburgh. A gust of 93mph was recorded at High Bradfield in South Yorkshire, trees and walls fell over
in Northumberland and one street in Newcastle city centre was shut due to wind damage. The Met Office said up to eight inches of snow could fall, with much of the country under a weather warning. Pictured today: A plane struggles to land in high winds at Leeds Bradford Airport (inset left), a house in Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire, is severely damaged by a tree (left), two vehicles in Ouston, County Durham, are crushed by falling bricks top right) and part of a roof in Newcastle-upon-Tyne is torn off by the wind, leaving debris on the ground (bottom right).