A major storm battered southern Britain on Monday, with winds of almost 160km/h tearing through property and causing flooding and major travel disruption.
More than 7000 homes in the Bristol and Bath area have reportedly been left without power, flights and rail services across the country have been cancelled or delayed and there is widespread flooding in southern England as rain and hurricane-force winds arrived from the southwest.
Trees have been brought down by high winds, damaging property and a number of roads left impassable by floodwater.
The rough conditions led to rescuers standing down the search for a 14-year-old boy who was washed out to sea from a beach in Newhaven, East Sussex, on the country's south coast on Sunday afternoon.
The Met Office said wind reached more than 160km/h on the Isle of Wight at 5am and the Environment Agency has issued 14 flood warnings for the southwest, as well as 146 flood alerts for the rest of England and Wales.
In northwest France 30,000 homes were without electricity early on Monday, said the ERDF distribution network, after wind gusts reached 133km/h in some areas knocking down power lines, but no major damage or injury were reported.
Commuters and travellers were warned to expect major disruptions to services. About 60 flights were cancelled at London's Heathrow Airport on Monday, while ferry journeys have also been disrupted.
Cross-channel train service Eurostar said it would not be running trains on Monday until 7am. Several ferry operators said they had cancelled some cross-Channel services and Irish Sea crossings.
The St Jude Storm hit the southwest late on Sunday night before tracking north eastwards across England and southern Wales throughout Monday morning.
The Met Office has issued an "amber" wind warning for the region, the third highest in a four-level scale, and urged people to delay their morning journeys to work to avoid the worst of the bad weather.
