Storm Austen: Strong winds and heavy rain batter southern UK

More than 15,000 homes are without power as Storm Austen continues to batter southern England and Wales, with more bad weather expected this weekend.

The first named storm of the season brought gusts of up to 84mph (135km/h) to Jersey, while in southern England the wild weather disrupted travel with fallen trees blocking railway lines and roads.

In Brighton, part of the iconic West Pier – an abandoned structure that first opened in 1866 – collapsed into the sea.

On Saturday, Storm Boelo is forecast to bring more strong winds and heavy rain. The Met Office has put in place an amber warning for wind on Saturday and Sunday to cover parts of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland.

Austen made landfall in the south-west overnight and tracked eastwards throughout the day. All schools on Jersey and Guernsey closed for the day and some in Cornwall were closed or started later than normal.

Ahead of the worst of the storm on Thursday afternoon, families were evacuated from a holiday park in Perranporth, Cornwall. Among them was Hannah Dawson-Turk, who told the BBC “the night before last, it sounded like our caravan was going to be ripped apart”.

“The storm is very loud outside now, and the waves look huge from our windows,” she said from a nearby hotel.

The National Grid said engineers had restored power to more than 60,000 properties since Storm Austen began.

Some ferry services between the UK and France were cancelled, while National Rail advised many routes were travelling at slower speeds.

In Brighton, onlookers filmed as a section of the West Pier fell into the sea as it was pummeled by large waves.

Stephen Royle, who lives opposite, said the waves rolling in were “enormous” and he is “shocked” by how much of the pier ended up in the sea.

The pier closed to the public in 1975 and fell into disrepair, but the ruined structure became a symbol of Brighton for some.