Strong winds are expected

Storm Gertrude is due to lash Preston overnight on Thursday into Friday morning.

Between 40-60mm of rain is due to fall while gusts of up to 80mph could cause travel disruption.

The Met Office has a yellow warning for wind and rain both in place until lunchtime on Friday.

The chief forecaster states: “Another area of low pressure is expected to move quickly east across the Atlantic, bringing another spell of heavy rain to western parts of the UK.

“Across western Scotland, north of the Central Belt, around 40-60 mm of rain is expected to fall quite widely, with up to 100 mm possible over high ground. Across the rest of Scotland, northwest England and north Wales, rainfall amounts are likely to be lower, with 20-40 mm falling widely and up to 60 mm possible over high ground.”

Electricity North West say they have engineers on standby to cope with any disruption caused by falling trees or power lines.

Chris Fox, Systems Manager for Electricity North West, said: “We are closely monitoring the weather and we’ve taken extra measures to get ready in case severe weather hits our region.

“I want to reassure our customers that we are on hand and we’re doing everything we can to protect the network.