Scotland was battered by winds of up to 165 miles (266 kilometres) per hour on Thursday, causing widespread disruption to transport links, closing schools and leaving tens of thousands without power.

Thousands of schools around Glasgow and the west of Scotland were closed, while every major bridge across the country was shut, flights from the main airports were disrupted and train services cut.

More than 55,000 people were left without power after falling trees brought down power lines.

The Met Office national weather service issued a red alert, its highest warning, in Britain's first major storm this winter.

Gales hitting 165 mph were recorded at the summit of Cairn Gorm in the Scottish Highlands, while the main cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh were hit by wind speeds of around 70 mph (113 kph).

Northern England was also hit, with several motorists stuck in floods, while Wales and Northern Ireland were also affected.

There were accidents across Britain, although no serious injuries were reported.

More than 300 passengers were stranded for nine hours off the east coast of northern England when a ferry from Dutch port of Rotterdam was unable to dock in Hull, due to fears that high winds could damage the ship if it entered port.

A wind turbine in Ayrshire, southwest Scotland, was destroyed after bursting into flames.

A spokeswoman for Scottish Hydro, one of the energy suppliers, said some 500 staff were working to restore electricity but the storm was hampering their efforts.

"With 100 mph (160 kph) winds, it's very dangerous for engineers to climb electricity poles," she told AFP.

The northeast of Scotland was expected to be affected worst on Friday.

"As the storm passes through and moves to the east of the UK on Friday, northwesterly winds will bring in cold air which will see a drop in temperatures," said Met Office forecaster Brent Walker.

"This is expected to bring snow to northern and western parts of the UK, while other parts of the country will see a cold night on Friday with widespread temperatures of around minus one degree Celsius (30 degrees Fahrenheit)."