Major tourist attraction closes, planes struggle to land as Storm Kathleen leaves thousands without power

Storm Kathleen has caused disruption across the UK and Ireland, with tens of thousands of people left without power, dozens of flights cancelled and a major tourist attraction forced to close.

Wind gusts of around 70mph (112km/h) have hit the island of Ireland and parts of Britain, making it difficult for planes to land at Heathrow Airport.

A British Airways flight was forced to abort its landing at Heathrow after its wheels brushed the runway before immediately taking off again.

More than 140 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled on Saturday, including all Aer Lingus services at Belfast City Airport.

Around 34,000 Irish homes were already without power, with outages concentrated in counties Mayo, Galway, Kerry and Cork. Around 12,000 customers were still without power on Saturday night.

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Titanic Belfast was forced to close on Saturday due to damage to its roof caused by Storm Kathleen.

She said she had “taken the precautionary measure of closing her building to the public for the rest of the day and tomorrow.”

Customers who booked tours will be refunded and the attraction will reopen on Monday, he added.

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Winds of 73mph were recorded at Drumalbin, Lanarkshire, the Met Office said.

The M48 Severn Bridge was closed in both directions to all traffic on Saturday evening due to high winds.

A yellow weather warning for wind is in force and covers Cornwall, much of Wales, parts of Lancashire and Cumbria, as well as central Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Parts of the UK have been experiencing warm weather, with Saturday provisionally becoming the hottest day of the year so far with 20.9C recorded, the Met Office said.

The highest temperature was reached in Santon Downham, Suffolk, on Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday afternoon, the Environment Agency (EA) issued 14 flood warnings – where flooding is “expected” – and 118 flood alerts across England.

The EA has also issued 45 red warnings for strong currents on the Thames, advising users of all boats not to navigate.

National Resources Wales has issued five flood alerts across the country.

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The Met Office warned there was a risk of “injury and danger to life” from large waves and beach debris being thrown onto seafronts, coastal roads and properties.

Met Office meteorologist Ellie Glaisyer said Storm Kathleen was “the reason we are seeing warmer temperatures because the location of the storm – towards the west of the UK – brings a southerly wind across the UK”.