Storm Ciaran: Major incident declared in England as 104mph winds batter Channel Islands and UK transport disrupted
Storm Ciaran has battered the Channel Islands with 104mph winds – while in parts of the UK a major incident has been declared with roads closed and ferry services cancelled.
The powerful storm swept in from the Atlantic over northwest France and the Channel Islands overnight, bringing with it powerful hurricane-force gusts and lashing rain.
In the Channel Islands, where a red weather warning is in place and a “major incident” has been declared, dozens of people have been forced to take refuge in a hotel after their homes were damaged by winds of over 100mph.
Three people have also been taken to hospital.
In the UK, the south of England is bearing the brunt, with a major incident in place for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Follow live: Transport affected as storm approaches
Waves crash over the harbour wall in Folkestone, Kent
Waves crash against the breakwater of the port at Goury near Cherbourg, France
A weather warning sign alerts drivers travelling through water spray and winds on the M5 motorway
Hundreds of schools have closed in Southampton, the Isle of Wight and across Devon and Cornwall due to the storm on Thursday, while all schools have closed on the island of Jersey.
Cornwall Council says more than 10,000 homes in the county are without power due to the storm.
In France, at least one person has died. The man, a truck driver, was killed in the Aisne region, northeast of Paris, when a tree fell on his vehicle.
The country has seen record-breaking gusts of up to 119mph (193km/h) in the town of Plougonvelin, on Brittany’s western tip, according to France’s meteorological service, Meteo France.
Other observers, such as Meteociel, say they have recorded 128mph (207km/h) gusts at the coastal tip of Pointe du Raz, Brittany.
More than 1.2 million French households have been left without electricity because of the storm.
A weather map by Ventusky shows wind speeds with purple indicating speeds of more than 100km/h and dark purple in excess of 140km/h
Check the weather forecast in your area
In southern England, the storm has wreaked havoc on the transport network.
Commuters in southern England have been urged to work from home, with rail firms “strongly advising” passengers not to travel on routes in and out of London on Thursday morning, as they assess any fallen trees and debris on the line.
Several major bridges have been closed, including the M48 Severn Bridge, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge near Dartford, The Sheppey and Medway crossings in Kent, the bridge over the River Hamble on the M27 and Southampton’s Itchen bridge.
A large number of ferry services have also been cancelled.
Condor Ferries cancelled its freight and passenger routes between the Channel Islands and the UK on Wednesday and Thursday, while DFDS and P&O Ferries have also suspended their services due to the high winds.
Jersey Airport, the main transport hub to the Channel Islands, has been closed today due to the storm, while in Europe, Dutch airline KLM scrapped all flights until the end of Thursday due to high winds in the Netherlands.
Weather warnings cover large parts of the UK
The Met Office has issued amber weather warnings for the South West and south coast of England for Thursday.
The Met Office’s latest weather warnings for Storm Ciaran (as of 8am on Thursday)
An amber alert for “very strong winds” and the potential for “large waves” is in place for parts of Devon and Cornwall until 11am today.
It warns of “flying debris” which “could result in a danger to life”, as well as the possibility of damage to buildings, and closures of roads, bridges and railway lines.
A similar warning is in place for parts of Kent and East Sussex until midday today, with the Met Office warning of wind speeds of up to 80mph in coastal areas and gusts of up to 85mph in exposed areas.
Overlapping yellow warnings for wind and rain, which cover the entire south of England, and parts of the Midlands and Wales, are also in place for both areas until midnight.
A separate yellow warning for rain is in place for the North East of England and eastern Scotland until 6am on Friday.
An amber alert for the South East of England is in place from the Met Office until midday Thursday due to Storm Ciaran.
An amber alert is in place from the Met Office for Devon and Cornwall until 11am on Thursday.
As of 11am on Thursday, there were 77 flood warnings and 188 flood alerts across England.
Ben Lukey, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said parts of the south coast could see “significant flooding” on Thursday.
“Rain from the storm could also see significant surface water and river flooding across parts of the west, south and northeast of England from later today until Friday, with minor impacts possible more widely on Saturday due to further showers,” he said.
A van drives through flood water in Whitley Bay, north east England
Vehicles are driven through a flooded road in Yapton, West Sussex
Concrete slabs displaced at Clarence Esplanade road in Southsea, Portsmouth
A trampoline on the railway tracks in St Austell
@networkrailwest
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Dangerous coasts and transport disruption
HM Coastguard has issued a warning for people to “stay away from the water’s edge” and to avoid the areas most likely to be impacted by Storm Ciaran.
National Rail is warning journeys could be impacted in Wales and the south of England by “heavy rain accompanied by strong winds” on Thursday, and across the northeast of England on Thursday and Friday.
The RAC has warned drivers in the south and west of the UK to avoid coastal and rural roads, due to reports of trees blocking several routes.
Meanwhile, the AA says its mechanics rang paramedics to help a driver suspected of suffering from hypothermia after their car became stuck in flood water on a rural road in the Newbury area.
The disruption follows flooding in Northern Ireland, with Newry in County Down badly hit overnight on Monday into Tuesday after the city’s canal burst its banks.
A fallen tree blocks a lane in Barnham, West Sussex
Trees and debris block the road in Dover, Kent
‘Wind damage’ and ‘a lot of rain’ likely
The Met Office, in its latest update, says Storm Ciaran will bring outbreaks of rain, some heavy, to most areas.
“This will be coupled with strong and gusty winds, potentially damaging across the southernmost parts of England. Northern Ireland should remain brighter, with isolated showers,” the Met Office said in its forecast.
“It will stay windy overnight with further outbreaks of rain developing in most areas, as a weakening Storm Ciaran remains close by, with some clear spells developing across the far south and west.”
Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir said Storm Ciaran was “likely to be a notch down” in intensity from the recent Storm Babet, but flooding could still occur because the ground is “so laden with water” and river levels “are at their highest”.
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Moment window is blown in by Storm Ciaran
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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”.
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.
“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.”
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.
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.”
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Dr Land showed us messages that he says he gets on a weekly basis, from sellers trying to push him cheap, unlicensed products.
They advertise “limited time offers” and cheap bundles on toxins imported from overseas. He calls them “drug dealers”.
“They are preying on the lack of knowledge among non-medical practitioners,” he says.
Consultations on how to regulate the aesthetics industry have been ongoing for years – but so far, no changes have been introduced.
The UK government now says it does plan to regulate certain procedures, but it’s not said how it will do this, or when.
“What will it take?” Nicola says. “One of the women we were with did almost die – she had to be resuscitated.”
Nicola’s beautician has stopped responding to her messages, so she says she still has no idea what the product was “or how much of it is in me”.
She doesn’t know how long her symptoms will last, but just hopes she will eventually recover.
Donald Trump has landed in Scotland for a four-day trip including high-level meetings – praising Sir Keir Starmer as “a good man” but calling illegal migration a “horrible invasion” that is “killing Europe”.
Crowds gathered at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire amid a major security operation for the US president’s visit.
Mr Trump told reporters: “I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am… but he’s a good man… he got a trade deal done. It’s a good deal for the UK.”
The pair are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month.
Trump left Air Force One to head to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf courses. Part of the trip will include the opening of another course in Aberdeenshire, billed as “the greatest 36 holes in golf”.
Trump supporters waved as Air Force One landed. Pic: PA
“There’s no place like Turnberry. It’s the best, probably the best course in the world. And I would say Aberdeen is right up there,” the US president said.
“Sean Connery helped get me the [planning] permits. If it weren’t for Sean Connery, we wouldn’t have those great courses,” he added.
During the trip, President Trump will also hold discussions with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is keen to secure a trade deal with the US.
Donald Trump spoke to reporters after landing at Prestwick Airport, Ayrshire. Pic: AP
Mr Trump told reporters there was “a good 50-50 chance” of an agreement with the EU but added there were “maybe 20 different” sticking points.
EU diplomats say a deal could result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by 1 August.
He travelled to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf resorts, amid tight security. Pic: Reuters
The US president touched on illegal immigration and gave European leaders a stark warning.
“You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together,” he said.
“But you’re allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe. Immigration is killing Europe.”
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What do Scots think of Trump visit?
He was also scathing about the installation of wind turbines across the continent.
“Stop the windmills. You’re ruining your countries,” he said. “It’s so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds.”
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Domestically, Mr Trump faces the biggest political crisis of his second term in office over his administration’s handling of files linked to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One.
“You’re making a big thing over something that’s not a big thing. I’m focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are,” he said.
Mr Trump added that “now’s not the time” to discuss a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned accomplice.
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Trump in Scotland amid Epstein storm
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While the president’s visit did attract some enthusiastic flag-waving supporters at Prestwick Airport, he is also likely to trigger a number of protests, prompting Police Scotland to call in support from other forces in the UK.
The Stop Trump Scotland group has planned demonstrations on Saturday in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries.
About 70% of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Mr Trump, while 18% have a positive opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found.
Mr Trump is staying at his Turnberry property on Scotland’s west coast this weekend, before travelling to Aberdeenshire on Monday, where he will open a second 18-hole course.
He is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit hosted by the King – the first world leader in modern times to undertake two UK state visits.
UK
‘Immigration is killing Europe’: Donald Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland
Donald Trump has landed in Scotland ahead of a four-day trip, which includes high-level meetings, praising Sir Keir Starmer as “a good man” but also calling illegal migration a “horrible invasion” that was “killing Europe”.
Crowds gathered at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire amid a major security operation for the US president’s visit.
Mr Trump told reporters: “I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am… but he’s a good man… he got a trade deal done. It’s a good deal for the UK.”
Trump latest: Donald Trump arrives in Scotland
The pair are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month.
Trump left Air Force One to head to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf courses. Part of the trip will include the opening of another course in Aberdeenshire, billed as “the greatest 36 holes in golf”.
Trump supporters waved as Air Force One landed. Pic: PA
“There’s no place like Turnberry. It’s the best, probably the best course in the world. And I would say Aberdeen is right up there,” the US president said.
“Sean Connery helped get me the [planning] permits. If it weren’t for Sean Connery, we wouldn’t have those great courses,” he added.
During the trip, President Trump will also hold discussions with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is keen to secure a trade deal with the US.
Donald Trump spoke to reporters after landing at Prestwick Airport, Ayrshire. Pic: AP
Mr Trump told reporters there was “a good 50-50 chance” of an agreement with the EU but added there were “maybe 20 different” sticking points.
EU diplomats say a deal could result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by 1 August.
He travelled to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf resorts, amid tight security. Pic: Reuters
The US president touched on illegal immigration and gave European leaders a stark warning.
“You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together,” he said.
“But you’re allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe. Immigration is killing Europe,” he told reporters.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What do Scots think of Trump visit?
He was also scathing about the installation of wind turbines across Europe.
“Stop the windmills. You’re ruining your countries,” he said. “It’s so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds.”
Read more from Sky News:
Epstein risks following Trump
Ghislaine Maxwell questioned
Epstein questions keep coming
Domestically, President Trump faces the biggest political crisis of his second term in office over his administration’s handling of files linked to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One. “You’re making a big thing over something that’s not a big thing. I’m focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are,” he said.
Mr Trump added that “now’s not the time” to discuss a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned accomplice.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump in Scotland amid Epstein storm
👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈
While the president’s visit did attract some enthusiastic flag-waving supporters at Prestwick Airport, he is also likely to trigger a number of protests, prompting Police Scotland to call in support from other forces in the UK.
The Stop Trump Scotland group has planned demonstrations on Saturday in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries.
About 70% of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a positive opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found.
President Trump is staying at his Turnberry property on Scotland’s west coast this weekend, before travelling to Aberdeenshire on Monday, where he will open a second 18-hole course.
He is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit hosted by the King – the first world leader in modern times to undertake two UK state visits.
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