TORRENTIAL and persistent rain caused some localised flooding as Storm Aileen swept through south Cumbria.

Homes across the UK were left without power and the county's traffic network suffered disruption due to high winds and rain.

Weather warnings were issued as many parts of England and Wales had gusts of 55mph to 65mph, the Met Office said.

Heavy rain fell across the country overnight with Walney recording 27.8mm and Bainbridge in North Yorkshire seeing 35.4mm.

Peak winds of 83mph were recorded at The Needles on the Isle of Wight, while Mumbles in Wales recorded a top speed of 74mph.

Western Power Distribution restored power to 30,000 customers across the Midlands, South Wales and the South West between 10pm and 6am, while another 20,000 experienced interruptions of less than three minutes.

Northern Powergrid - which covers the North East, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire - said at least 7,400 homes lost power overnight and Electricty North West said around 1,300 homes were affected.

Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples said: "That's quite a high total, especially in September.

"The wind speeds as well - it's probably a bit unusual to get that sort of strength of winds at this time of the year. You'd normally expect that in October or November."

She said Storm Aileen had caused "widespread" problems, including surface water flooding, bringing trees and branches down, and causing "minor" damage to some homes.