The Met Office has issued a severe yellow weather warning as Storm Freya approaches the UK, bringing heavy gales and possible travel disruption.

Dangerous weather conditions and winds travelling at up to 80mph are expected to hit England and Wales on Sunday afternoon. 

Forecasters expect the storm to pose a “danger to life” and fear that flying debris and large waves could cause injuries.

Possible hazards include tiles being blown from roofs, fallen branches, and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts.

People living in coastal areas, including west Wales and northwest England, are especially likely to be affected.

There could also be damage to buildings, with road hazards and power cuts possible.

The yellow weather warning for wind comes into force on 3pm on Sunday and will last until 6am on Monday morning.

“Eyes really now start to turn towards the southwest and this afternoon when we will start to see the winds rip up,” said Craig Snell, a Met Office forecaster.

“In our warning area we are catering for gusts reaching between 50 and 60 miles per hour, even inland. Parts of Wales and the Irish Sea coast of northwest England is where we could see 70 to 80 miles an hour.

“The strongest winds will be limited to parts of western England and Wales, but the warning area includes parts of the midlands and over towards Yorkshire and Lincolnshire as well.”

“But they probably won’t see the strongest winds until the very back-end of Sunday going into Monday morning.”

Storm Freya will move away from the UK and across the North Sea by Monday, forecasters said.

“We can expect some branches and a few trees being blown down and there’s also scope for some tiles being blown from roofs and also some power cuts as well,” Mr Snell said.

Temperatures are expected to reach between 8C and 12C in England and Wales on Sunday, while they will remain below 10C (50F) in Scotland.

Additional reporting by agencies

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