Torrential rain and 80mph winds set to sweep Britain

Householders across the country have been warned to prepare for chaos as severe weather conditions threaten their homes.

High winds and rainfall will sweep across the country with wind speeds reaching up to 80mph, forecasters warned last night.

All of the UK will be affected with the worst of the weather expected to continue today on the south coast of England and the west of Scotland.

A weather warning issued by the Met Office said up to 75mm of rain could fall over the next few days, with a risk of flooding in many areas.

Nikki Berry, weather forecaster for MeteoGroup said: "Everywhere is going to be wet and windy. It looks like the southern and Welsh coast is going to get the worst gusts and in south-west Scotland.Dorset and Hampshire could get some particularly strong gusts.

"The heavy rain is then arriving in the west of Scotland and is working its way across Scotland and then working its way eastwards across England and Wales.

"We have another system moving in over the Western Isles with very strong winds expected. These gusts could reach 70 or 80mph tonight. It's pretty nasty stuff."