Three dead as Storm Ophelia batters Ireland and parts of Britain

Three people have been killed as a result of the conditions brought on by Storm Ophelia, which has battered parts of the British Isles.

The former hurricane made landfall in the Republic of Ireland in the early hours of Monday morning (16 October), bringing winds of around 70mph and gusts approaching 100mph.

Schools and collages have been closed and dozens of flights cancelled as the system bore down on the island.

So far three people have been confirmed dead including a woman in her 50s who died when a tree fell onto her car. A man also died in a similar but separate incident.

And a man in his 30s was killed in a chainsaw accident while trying to move a felled tree.

The storm comes almost exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 brought widespread damage across the UK, killing 18 people.

Ophelia is expected to move northwards across the UK in the next 24 hours, bringing strong winds to parts of Wales, northern England and Scotland.

The storm affected parts of England in other ways, with the sun turning red due to sand particles from the Sahara desert and the sky turning a sepia colour.

Thousands of homes across Ireland have been left without power as the storm moves northwards from the Atlantic.

Met weatherman Grahame Madge said: "It's due to come over the west coast of Ireland around midday and as it goes through the day it will be centre over to the north of Northern Ireland.

"It will be gradually easing up into Scotland overnight and into Tuesday morning – it's weakening as it goes.

"Parts of England, areas like the North West, are covered by a warning. The impacts will be felt in northern England into Tuesday."