Severe gales cause widespread travel disruption

Severe gales brought by Storm Chandra have caused widespread travel disruption on the Isle of Man.

Several flights to and from the island and all of Tuesday's ferry crossings between Douglas and Heysham were cancelled, and the A18 Mountain Road was closed for most of the day on safety grounds.

Fallen trees also led to the closure of many roads, particularly in the west of the island, with buses diverted on the routes affected.

A yellow weather warning for severe gales and heavy rain issued by Ronaldsway Met Office until midday was replace by another for waves breaking onto coastal roads either side of high tide, in place until 19:30 GMT.

Forecasters said Shore Road in Rushen along with promenades in Douglas, Castletown, Laxey and Ramsey were most at risk of coastal overtopping.

Winds reaching 67mph (108km/h) hit the island, with a warning also in place for potential flooding on some roads due to heavy rainfall.

The Department of Infrastructure (DoI) confirmed the Switchback Road in St John's would remain closed until 12:00 GMT on Wednesday, as conditions were "too hazardous" to clear the carriageway.

Kentraugh Road in Port St Mary would also remain shut to traffic until then, when teams would deal with the "very large trees" which had fallen.

And Granville Street in Douglas remained closed due to falling roof slates, with a review of the closure to take place on Wednesday morning, the department added.

Isle of Man Post Office said said it deliveries had been made where possible, but only if it was safe for staff to do so.

Among the areas affected by fallen trees as the winds picked up was the Queen's Hotel pub in Laxey.

Landlord Gary Moore said said he was awoken at 06:30 GMT on Tuesday by a neighbour.

"I went out and there's this tree in the car park," he said.

"Two cars have been squashed and a few little dents on a few other cars."

As the tree has fallen on private land, Gary said he had to ask a tree surgeon to cut it up and take it away, adding: "A few of the regulars and locals came to pinch some wood for their fires too."

Bus Vannin's accessibility sessions at the Bottleneck Car Park in Douglas - planned to demonstrate how new mobility scooter-friendly routes would work - were cancelled due to the conditions.

The new routes, set to come into force 2 February, will see more accessible bus stops across the island's network.

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