Ferry services have been cancelled and a red weather warning has been issued for the Channel Islands as Storm Ciaran sweeps in towards the south of England.
Forecasters said gusts of 85mph could hit the islands on Wednesday, with wind speeds of up to 110mph in the English Channel.
High tides could also force the closure of coastal roads and residents have been urged to “avoid outdoor activities”.
Condor Ferries has cancelled its freight and passenger routes between the Channel Islands and the UK on Wednesday and Thursday, while DFDS has axed services between Newhaven in East Sussex and Dieppe in France.
Brittany Ferries has also warned of possible disruption to its cross-Channel routes.
Image: A Met Office amber alert warning has been issued for southwest and southern England on Thursday
Image: Met Office yellow weather warnings for rain are in place until 9am on Wednesday
Met Office yellow weather warnings for rain in the region were in place earlier today.
It warned of rainfall of between 25mm and 60mm in places, with up to 100mm on higher ground.
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Yellow weather warnings for rain and wind are also in place between Wednesday and Friday across parts of England, Scotland and Wales.
Amber weather warnings are in place for Cornwall and Devon between 3am and 11am on Thursday, and between 6am and 5pm the same day along the coast from Hampshire to Kent, as well as parts of East Anglia.
Forecasters said strong gusts – of 70 to 80mph, perhaps exceeding 85 mph – could disrupt travel and cause damage to buildings, while flying debris could pose “a danger to life”.
Trains and planes could be delayed, while roads and bridges face potential closure.
Flooding in Northern Ireland
There was flooding in Newry in County Down on Monday after the city’s canal burst its banks, while in Dromantine around 100 sheep were rescued after becoming stranded in a flooded field.
Image: A street is sandbagged to prevent water flowing further through the streets in Newry Town, Co Down
Image: Flood water in McCartan Bros clothes store in Newry Town, Co Down
Newry resident Dessie Heatley described the scenes as a “repeat of what happened here around 35 years ago”.
“We were up and down here in boats,” he said. “It’s pretty bad, I’m sure all the shopkeepers are raging, we’d no warning or nothing.”
Police have advised people to avoid Newry city.
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Residents row boat across flooded NI streets
Downpours expected in parts of England and Wales
Storm Ciaran is set to bring strong winds and heavy downpours to southern parts of England and Wales – with “unsettled” conditions forecast for much of the UK.
Rainfall of 20mm to 25mm is expected across southern and western areas, with potentially more falling over higher ground, the Met Office said.
The forecaster warned conditions could worsen in areas already affected by flooding from Storm Babet.
Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir said Storm Ciaran was “likely to be a notch down” in intensity from Storm Babet, but flooding could still occur because the ground is “so laden with water” and river levels “are at their highest”.
She told Sky News the key features would be “wind damage” and a “lot of rain”, and added that the wet weather would slowly move northwards.
Buckle up for some really wild weather
Buckle up for some really wild weather over the next few days.
Storm Ciaran is due to hit the UK on Wednesday night and into Thursday, bringing very high winds and a lot more rain.
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for Pembrokeshire, Cornwall and Devon between 3am and 1pm on Thursday, and the Channel coast from Dorset to Kent between 6am and 8pm.
Wind speeds could be 70-80mph on the coast, possibly exceeding 85mph in exposed spots.
That’s enough to cause significant damage to property, with debris being hurled through the air. Trees will also take a battering because they are still in full-leaf. And transport will be disrupted.
The storm will also bring lots more rain – and over a much wider area.
That’s because Ciaran will grind almost to a halt over the UK, its path blocked by a curl of the jet stream.
Then, just as Ciaran finally moves off over the North Sea, we get another storm piling in, bringing yet more rain over the weekend.
All in all, some really unpleasant weather for the rest of the week.
Ms Nasir said the storm would start affecting southern areas of the UK on Wednesday evening, as well as on Thursday morning during rush hour, before it tracks northwards.
“We could see some coastal flooding because the winds will be so strong, particularly initially across more southern areas,” she said.
“It’s not a fast-moving system, so it’s going to be with us for at least two-and-a-half, if not three, days and most places will be impacted in some shape or form by this storm.”
Her colleague Marco Petagna added: “There are possible gusts of 80mph to 90mph in some exposed southern areas. It’s probably quite a nasty storm this one.”
Is Storm Ciaran affecting an area near you?
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A man has died after suffering cardiac arrest onboard a boat attempting to reach the UK.
The vessel turned back towards Equihen beach on the French coast yesterday morning.
A nurse tried to resuscitate the man but was unsuccessful.
Image: Pic: PA
French authorities have now launched an investigation into the circumstances.
A spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, has criticised authorities on both sides of the Channel.
Jacob Burns said: “Yet again we have a tragedy in the Channel, that is the consequence of the deadly, costly and ineffective security policies implemented by the UK and France.”
Image: Pic: PA
Later on Saturday, a lifeboat carried migrants who have made the voyage into the Port of Dover.
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Photographs showed them huddled under blankets and orange life jackets on board.
“The opportunity of tomorrow and what’s on offer is the best thing in football,” the England captain said. “I think we don’t necessarily carry the weight of it and how much it means to people, but we’re aware of it because it means the same to us.”
So often they were only watching other nations making finals.
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England’s first was the men winning the 1966 World Cup.
Image: England manager Sarina Wiegman reacts to defeat against Spain at the Women’s World Cup final in 2023. Pic: Reuters
Image: Lauren James looks dejected after their World Cup defeat, but is confirmed fit for Sunday’s revenge match against Spain. Pic: Reuters
Now, in Basel, comes the chance for revenge against Spain – even though no one in the England camp is saying that, publicly at least, in Switzerland.
Especially knowing how challenging a task it is coming up again against Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putella – the recent winners of football’s biggest individual honours.
Image: England fans celebrating after England beat Italy to reach the finals. Pic: Reuters
Image: Given England’s history against Spain, it could be a nerve-wracking time for England fans. File pic: Action Images/Reuters
But this is Spain’s first Euros final.
And there is some fear from the world champions at England’s grit and resolve to produce comebacks late in the quarter-finals and semi-finals – with 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang’s goals integral to the fightbacks.
Image: England celebrate their semi-final win against Italy to reach the finals. Pic: Reuters
Image: Michelle Agyemang has propelled England to the Euro 2025 final with two vital goals. Pic: AP
Spain captain Irene Paredes reflected yesterday on how the Lionesses can flip a result late on.
But she was also discussing how their World Cup win was tarnished by the on-pitch kiss that led to former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales being convicted of a sexual assault on striker Jenni Hermoso.
It sparked a wider clamour in Spain for improved rights and respect for women.
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2:10
Spain’s players struggle for respect
“Since then [2023] we took big steps forward,” Paredes said.
“I think this idea is disappearing from society. I still believe we have to continue opening doors… we’re a reference for boys and girls in society, but we still have things to do.”
It is a reminder that while tonight is about collecting silverware, both England and Spain know that emerging as champions can drive further growth in women’s football back home.
Amid it all, they’ll try to savour just what reaching a final means and how rare they are – until recently for English and Spanish women.
A woman who thought she was being injected with Botox was left unable to swallow and doctors thought she had suffered a stroke – after she contracted a life-threatening illness from a potentially illegal product.
Nicola Fairley is one of dozens of people who have developed botulism linked to unlicensed anti-wrinkle injections.
She had the procedure done with her regular beautician after winning a Facebook competition for three areas of “Botox”.
Image: Nicola Fairley
“Within two or three hours my forehead and the sides of my eyes had started to freeze,” Nicola says.
“At first I thought ‘amazing’, that’s what I wanted – then it just carried on.”
Nicola was eventually sent to A&E in Durham, where she met several other patients who all had similar symptoms.
Doctors were stumped. “They thought I’d had a stroke,” she says.
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“We all had problems with our eyes, some of us with our breathing. I couldn’t swallow – they put me on nil by mouth because they were worried I would choke in the waiting room.”
Image: Doctors were worried Nicola could choke after she was injected with a suspected illegal product
It turns out all of the patients had recently had anti-wrinkle injections containing botulinum toxin.
Health officials believe they were imported, illegal products.
Botulism – the disease they caused – is so rare many doctors never see it in their entire careers.
It can cause symptoms including slurred speech and breathing problems, and can be deadly.
The disease is so unusual, and so many cases were coming in, that doctors exhausted their stocks of anti-toxin and had to ask hospitals as far away as London to get more.
The UK Health Security Agency has so far confirmed 38 cases of botulism linked to cosmetic toxin injections, but Sky News has been told of several more.
The outbreak began in the North East but cases have now been seen in the East of England and East Midlands as well.
There are only a handful of legal botulinum toxin products in the UK – of which Botox is one.
But cosmetic treatments are largely unregulated, with anyone allowed to inject products like fillers and toxins without any medical training.
Cheap, illegal products imported from overseas are easily available.
Image: Dr Steven Land
‘It’s the Wild West’
Dr Steven Land runs Novellus Aesthetics clinic in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked for decades as an emergency medicine doctor before moving into aesthetics.
He says he has been warning health officials of an outbreak for years.
“It’s the Wild West,” Dr Land told Sky News.
“Because anyone can do this, there is a lack of knowledge around what is legal, what’s not legal, what is okay to be injected.
“These illegal toxins could have 50 units, 5,000 units or rat poison – there could be anything in there.”