Bad weather

Drivers stranded as storms hit UK
Severe weather and heavy storms have been battering much of the UK, causing disruption and delay for travellers.

Durham police have launched a rescue operation after at least 150 motorists became stuck in snow on the A66.

A rescue operation has been launched after the captain of a cargo ship was seriously injured off the Scilly Isles during a force 10 gale.

Earlier crew and passengers had to be rescued from two ships off the coast of Blackpool and on St Kilda.

Blizzards have affected much of Scotland and northern England, with snow recorded as deep as 15cm (5.9ins).

A coach carrying 40 pensioners was among the vehicles stranded on the A66, Neil Sterio of the Highways Agency told BBC News 24.

"There are about 100 people still there," he said.

Emergency services are evacuating rescued motorists to a hall and a pub in the village of Bowes, County Durham.

Ch Insp Graham Rankin said: "Police and volunteers are trying to make sure that vulnerable people are kept warm and fed and watered."

Robert Campbell, 32, from Penicuik, Midlothian, is a passenger in one lorry stuck on the road.

Freak wave
Grounded ferry on beach near Blackpool

He told the BBC News website: "The snowdrifts cover my boots when I go outside. They seem to have got the cars off the road, but the lorries are still stranded."

Motorists elsewhere have been hit by high winds which have caused several accidents, and two filling stations in Cumbria have had parts of their roofs blown off.

RAF helicopters will attempt to airlift the skipper of the Horn Cliff cargo vessel after he was seriously injured in a storm, Falmouth Coastguard said.

Airlift attempt

One passenger on board suffered a broken hand and another sustained head injuries, but a spokesman said neither was serious. The ship lost about 90 containers but is not thought to be in danger of sinking.

A helicopter from RAF Chivenor in Devon is refuelling at Cork, in the Republic of Ireland, and will attempt to airlift the captain at around 2000 GMT.

The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings across the UK with the exception of south-east England.

Adverse weather has left almost 3,000 homes in North Yorkshire and some 2,500 homes in East Yorkshire without power. A further 1,300 have also been affected in northern Lincolnshire. CE Electrics say they are currently unsure when power will be restored.

The coastguard

Earlier, rescuers airlifted 23 passengers and crew from the Riverdance freight ferry which was beached by a freak wave at Cleveleys near Blackpool on Thursday night.

The freight vessel which had been taking trucks from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland to the port of Heysham in Lancashire began listing at an angle of 60 degrees off the coast.

It is being closely monitored by the coastguard in case of any oil spills. The ferry is carrying 150 tonnes of fuel.

One of those involved in the recovery operation praised the rescue crews and the Riverdance's captain.

John Matthews, from Fleetwood RNLI, said: "The conditions were terrible. I've got to say that the two lifeboat crews and the helicopters did a wonderful job.

"Listening to it on the radio, everything was very calm and professional. I was quite amazed by how calm the master of the ship was."

Environment fears

In a separate incident, a helicopter winched 14 people to safety from the stricken trawler off St Kilda.

The Spanish crew of the British-registered Spinningdale trawler have now been flown to Stornoway. Four were taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia.

Their vessel ran aground on rocks on one of the islands of the St Kilda archipelago - 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides.

They were unable to evacuate to a life raft because of Force 9 winds.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch will launch an investigation into the incident amid fears the trawler could pose an environmental risk to the archipelago, which is a twice-listed World Heritage Site.

Jamie Ralston, the rescue centre co-ordinator at Stornoway Coastguard, told the BBC: "Our main concern ... if the vessel does break up, there was 8,000 litres of fuel oil and 450 litres of lube oil on board the vessel, is what damage that might do to the surrounding coastline and wildlife."