Britain braces for 1,000-mile wide 'weather bomb'

Britain is braced for a 1,000-mile wide incoming 'weather bomb' as Storm Gareth arrives tomorrow with two inches of rain and 80mph gusts - as rain and high winds cause problems until the weekend.

Forecasters have warned the UK will be battered by the worst period of weather since last year's Beast from the East, with conditions expected to worsen over the coming days amid a raft of Met Office weather warnings. 

Up to 2.4in (60mm) is possible in Cumbria and gusts of up to 80mph will hit northern coasts over the next few days - as the RNLI urged people tempted to watch strong waves to 'stay back, stay high and stay dry'.

Gareth, which will be the seventh named storm of the season, is undergoing 'explosive cyclogenesis' - becoming what is known as a 'weather bomb' - as its air pressure plunges by more than 24 milibars in 24 hours.

It comes after a fortunate pedestrian narrowly avoided being crushed by falling bricks in Hackney, East London, yesterday as he walked past a collapsing building in high winds. 

CCTV footage showed the man strolling along the busy pavement when a mass of bricks and rubble crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust just seconds after he walked past a café.

The man narrowly missed being crushed by the collapsing building. London Fire Brigade said no one was hurt in the incident on Stoke Newington High Street but the clean-up of the rubble took almost two hours. 

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said: 'The strong north-westerly winds will also affect southwest Scotland late on Tuesday, spreading across much of England and Wales through Wednesday. 

'Gusts of 50-55 mph are likely inland and up to 65 mph along western coasts. Winds will gradually ease during the afternoon.' 

Most places will experience high winds and heavy rain tomorrow and Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said conditions would remain 'very unsettled' for the rest of the week.





MailOnline