RAIL disruption hit Crewe Station today (Friday) as Storm Eunice blew across the region.

Train services to Chester and Shrewsbury have been cancelled completely by operator Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast ran an amended timetable which resulted in extended travel times to London Euston of as long as four-and-a-half hours before suspending all services later in the day.

Firefighters dealt with a fire caused by the branches of a tree dropping onto overhead power cables on the Crewe to Liverpool line this afternoon.

Network Rail engineers were called out to deal with the incident off Vernon Way.

An amber weather warning warning for extremely strong winds, issued by the Met Office, remains in place all day with wind speeds peaking just over 50mph by the middle of the afternoon.

And while the storm, which forecasters have predicted could be one of the worst in the UK for three decades, will drop away by tomorrow morning, the Met has also put a yellow warning for ice in place for Saturday (February 19) with wintry showers on the way.

People are being urged not to travel and stay at home.

The south of the country has been the worst affected so far. In London, parts of roof of the O2 Arena roof have been badly damaged.

On the train, Martyn Brennan, Operations Director at Transport for Wales, said: "The extreme weather forecast for Storm Eunice is very concerning, so we are strongly advising people not to attempt to travel during this time as services will not be operating."

Avanti West Coast introduced a 50mph speed limit initially and said passengers who had booked trains for today would be allowed to travel any time on Saturday, Sunday and Monday using their original tickets.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service warned motorists of making "unnecessary journeys" and to be mindful of flying debris.

Queens Park was closed for the day by Cheshire East Council with the authority also shutting off the Westminster Street park and play area to users.

Cheshire East's Highways Department says people can report fallen trees and debris as well as structural damage to buildings by ringing 0300 123 5020 between 8am and 5pm or 0300 123 5025 overnight.