Severe weather warning for Merseyside

Mar 12 2008 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

A SEVERE weather warning was issued by the Met Office for Merseyside and Cheshire yesterday, with strong winds and hazardous road conditions forecast.

The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) was bracing itself for an upsurge in calls and urged people not to travel unless absolutely necessary, and only to dial 999 in a genuine emergency.

A spokeswoman said the ambulance service was increasing resources to meet the expected rise in demand.

The Met Office said storm force winds would develop overnight in the North-West of England, along with showers and rain, some heavy.

The severe gale warning, which covers much of Britain, was in force from 9pm last night until this afternoon.

Merseyside police urged people to follow Met Office advice and said emergency services, along with the Environment Agency, local authorities, health authorities, travel companies and British Transport Police, had plans in place “to deal with all eventualities.”

The West Country bore the brunt of winds gusting at up to 95mph that roared in from the Atlantic earlier this week. However, the latest storms were expected to strike further north.

The Environment Agency issued the following contact numbers: Customer Contact Centre 08708 506 506; Incident Hotline on 0800 807060 and Floodline 0845 988 1188.