STORM Gareth to strike Southport

Heavy rain and strong winds are hitting parts of the UK as Storm Gareth moves east.

Northern Ireland was the first area to be affected and parts of Scotland and north-west England have seen flooding.

Three yellow Met Office weather warnings are in place until Thursday.

Forecasters said there could be gusts of up to 80mph along coasts in northern England, and there are fears of widespread travel disruption on Wednesday morning.

National Rail warned commuters to expect disruptions on various train lines in Scotland, Wales and northern and eastern England .

BBC Scotland Weather said winds had reached storm force across Argyll with a gust of 75mph at Machrihanish.

Flooding has already affected many parts of Scotland with alerts in place in southern and western areas of Scotland.

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The Environment Agency has issued a number of flood warnings, mostly in north west England.

The Met Office has also warned of localised flooding in Cumbria, after heavy rain.

It added that the storm brings the risk of damage to buildings, flying debris, large waves, power cuts and travel disruption.

The strong winds are expected to move into England and Wales on Wednesday.

Gusts of up to 50-55mph are likely inland and 65mph along western coasts, forecasters say.

The Environment Agency in Yorkshire and the north east of England said rivers will continue to rise, with workers out in Cumbria and Lancashire on Tuesday to try to reduce the risk of flooding.

Gareth is the third storm to be named this year, after Erik in February and Freya earlier this month.

The three yellow “be aware” Met Office warnings in place include:

• Strong winds across Northern Ireland lasting until 12:00 GMT on Wednesday. Gusts of up to 75mph or even 80mph along northern coasts
• Strong winds across south west Scotland, England and Wales until 15:00 GMT on Wednesday. Gusts of up to 55mph inland and 65mph along the west coast
• Heavy rain in north west England – up to 80mm expected in total, or even up to 100mm in higher ground – from 00:15 GMT on Wednesday until 15:00 GMT on Thursday.