In Pictures: Storm Arwen leaves trail of destruction

Watch: Gusts near 100mph as Storm Arwen batters country,

Storm Arwen battered much of Scotland and the north of England overnight, with gusts of almost 100mph leaving damaged homes and streets.

The Met Office said speeds hit 98mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland.

Huge waves crash the against the sea wall and Roker Lighthouse in Sunderland on Saturday morning (Owen Humphreys/PA)

A homeowner, who lost the roof of his house in strong winds, takes a picture in Blackhall, County Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Trees were uprooted, walls and roofs blown down and lorries were stuck as snow closed the M62 over the Pennines.

Train services were cancelled in many areas, with a barn blown on to the line near Falkirk one of the many incidents reported in Scotland.

A fallen tree blocks a road in the centre of Norton village in Teesside (Owen Humphreys/PA)

A lorry blown over in high winds blocks the A179 near Hartlepool, County Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA)

People were still advised to only travel if absolutely necessary, and the Met Office described gusts overnight as “damaging” and having affected “a wide swathe of the United Kingdom”.

A fallen tree in Willaston, Cheshire, in the aftermath of Storm Arwen (Adrian O’Brien/PA)

While the red weather warning expired in the early hours of Saturday, the forecaster said amber and yellow warnings for wind remained in place (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Routes were blocked in Teesside after gusts of almost 100mph battered some areas of the UK during Storm Arwen (Owen Humphreys/PA)