A massive clean-up operation is under way after Storm Goretti battered the South West and Channel Islands
People are being urged not to travel in Cornwall after 'one of the most severe storms'
About 15,000 homes are without water in Cornwall
Tens of thousands of homes remain without power in the South West
Dozens of schools are closed in Cornwall and all schools are closed in Guernsey and Alderney
Homes were evacuated in Grampound in Cornwall after fears of a gas leak caused by fallen trees
Two apartment blocks were evacuated in St Peter Port, Guernsey, with 50 people relocated to hotels
Trains are disrupted in the South West
St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly experienced gusts of 99mph
Listen live to updates on BBC Radio Devon, BBC Radio Cornwall, BBC Radio Jersey and BBC Radio Guernsey
Eve Watson
BBC News
We're seeing some more images from this afternoon in Cornwall.
They show damaged solar panels and a wind turbine.
In Falmouth, boats were blown over.
Image source, 360 CornwallKatharine Sharpe
BBC News
Manchester to Cornwall is a long journey at the best of times, but it’s never taken me nearly 24 hours before.
I left Media City in Salford to travel down to my partner in Camborne at 17:00 GMT last night. The train to London went without issue, but the second stage of an overnight bus to Cornwall was delayed by a few hours to a departure time of 03:00 - and then an hour later.
I was then informed that it would only go as far west as Plymouth. And all trains and buses west of Plymouth were cancelled.
At this point, the phrase ‘if you don’t laugh you’ll cry’ was doing some heavy work in my head as I tried to see the funny side of an already marathon journey somehow being upgraded to ultramarathon status.
Thankfully, my other half works half days on Fridays, so after a five-hour wait in Plymouth, he arrived as part of a three-hour round trip drive to rescue me just after midday.
We are now on the 90-minute journey back, more than 22 hours after I left Quay House.
The irony of the situation is that it’s a gorgeous and relatively calm day in Plymouth now - so I imagine the delay is due to the several trees on the line.
Archie Farmer
BBC News
Two birds have died after a wildlife park was battered by Storm Goretti.
Paradise Park said precautions were put in place but a weaver and a sun conure parrot were found dead at the Cornish park.
It said many members of staff were in on their day off so they could remove trees and make repairs across the site.
Image source, Paradise ParkArchie Farmer
BBC News
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for ice, external for parts of Devon.
The warning is in place until 12:00 GMT on Saturday, due to partially thawed snow refreezing, alongside freezing fog and wintry showers.
Image source, Met OfficeThe States of Guernsey said about 100 roads across the island had been closed due to fallen trees and debris overnight.
States Works said its teams responded to "widespread disruption" and were deployed early to put road closure signs in place.
Operations director Joe Adams said its crews were helping with the clear-up with priority being given to major arterial routes and areas that did not require specialist tree surgeons.
He said: “Our teams were prepared for today’s response following one of the most significant storms to hit the island since Storm Ciaran.
“Despite the scale of the damage, there has thankfully been very little localised flooding."
He said the clean-up would take "some time" and asked for the public's patience as work continued.
Emily Hotchkiss and her two young children were at home as Storm Goretti hit, causing a tree to fall through the front of her house.
"If my children had remained upstairs or been asleep when that tree came down, this conversation would be very different", she said.
"My children would have been dead.
"There was smashing glass and a great big tree just came through the front of the house.
"It was seconds really from impaling me and my children.
"My little boy was petrified, there was bits of wood flying everywhere, smashing glass."
Plymouth City Council said it had dealt with 17 fallen trees overnight and more than 60 tree-related incidents were outstanding.
It said its highways team also responded to a number of reports of flooding, as well as fallen scaffolding and Christmas lights.
Stuart Road (closed between Wilton Street and Molesworth Road), Milford Lane (which is likely to be closed all weekend) are shut due to fallen trees.
Active Jersey says the sports centre at Springfield Stadium will remain closed for the rest of today with a plan to reopen parts of it on Saturday.
The team says the centre will be open for group fitness classes only and the gym will remain shut while work is carried out to ensure the area is safe and secure. The pitch and ball court will reopen on Saturday, it adds.
It says to minimise disruption, additional gym sessions have been scheduled at Oakfield Sports Centre for members over the weekend.
Active Jersey says people with a monthly pass or six-month membership at Springfield will be able to book badminton and pickleball courts.
A photo shared on an earlier Facebook post shows several items of gym equipment and glass smashed on the floor at Springfield.
Image source, Active JerseyArchie Farmer
BBC News
About 15,000 properties have been left without water in the Helston and Lizard area of Cornwall.
Cornwall Council said bottled water was being provided to the affected households, while emergency repairs were taking place.
South West Water said: "Due to storm Goretti we experienced power outages at our water treatment works in Wendron. Our teams are working hard to rectify the issue and thank you for your patience."
Chief of States of Jersey Police Robin Smith says he is "delighted" to share there are no reported casualties from the storm.
Smith also said the authority did not receive many 999 calls because islanders listened to the important advice, and in his words, "bunkered down".
“Of course, we have got busier this morning."
He said the clean-up today will continue into the weekend and urged motorists to drive carefully, be cautious of loose trees and be patient while emergency services, government agencies and volunteers worked to get the island back to normal.
He thanked all the services who worked through the night and an “even bigger thank you” to islanders.
We're seeing some more images now from Cornwall, where more than 40,000 properties are still without power.
The severe winds that blew across Falmouth downed trees, and flattened some cars in the area - as you can see in the pictures below.
Image source, Hugh Hastings/Getty ImagesFalmouth University student Anna Richmond found her car crushed outside her home
Image source, Hugh Hastings/Getty ImagesThis estate car also bore the brunt of Storm Goretti in Falmouth
There are disruptions to health and social care services on the island today.
Princess Elizabeth Hospital said some elective surgeries scheduled for today have been cancelled. It said all affected patients have been contacted and the hospital remains open as usual.
Community nurses will only be doing essential visits for part of the day with services expected to return later. It said timings may vary due to the current road conditions.
It said its meals on wheels service has also been cancelled, but the service will be in touch directly with all those affected to ensure they have support today.
Archie Farmer
BBC News
Cornwall Council is warning people to still "avoid travelling unless it is essential".
It described Storm Goretti as "one of the most severe storms Cornwall has experienced in living memory and it has caused widespread disruption, particularly to roads, coastal areas and local infrastructure".
Image source, Cornish-Wolverine/BBC Weather Watchers
Head of operations at the States of Alderney said teams were up early this morning clearing roots, chainsawing trees and putting the island "back together".
James Robinson said the island suffered some damage but with the warning of Storm Goretti, its on-island first responders got together to plan, prepare and get things ready.
Robinson said as the reports came in through the night, they were able to deploy people to mainly fallen trees, debris, damage to some commercial and domestic properties and roofs.
"Fortunately, no casualties," he added.
Jemma Woodman
BBC South West Investigations
Despite losing three enormous trees that landed on his house, Rob Wilding is perhaps surprisingly upbeat on Friday lunchtime.
“These trees are huge, tonnes and tonnes of wood crashing on to your house, at eight o’clock last night, in the height of the wind, that was quite a moment,” he says, as he surveys the now horizontal trunks and ponders how to get them cleared.
A gust initially blew one of his vast Monterey cypress trees on to his house in Truro causing his children to run downstairs shouting there were branches in the room.
Rob says they moved to the back of the house just before a second gust sent two more trees on to the roof.
He believes the trees are 100 years old, and a crane will be needed to clear them.
Right now Rob is just happy his family are safe: “We know it could have been a huge disaster.”
Robert Hall
BBC News correspondent
The Channel Islands have been badly hit.
This was a storm which actually shook houses.
We drove up a coastal road here in St Ouen, Jersey, last night through a blizzard of foam from off the sea, curtains of spray and flood water.
We couldn't drive up many roads, there were trees down and debris on the road.
There was a big effort at first light to get the roads clear as no-one could get out overnight.
Schools have been disrupted, buses couldn't run and the big clear up is going to take a long time.
Storm Ciaran took nearly two years to clean up and there are concerns here right across the Channel Islands that getting the environment at least back to something like normal could take that long again.
Residents of a block of flats in Guernsey were evacuated on Thursday after the roof was damaged.
One resident said debris fell to the ground.
Image source, Jonathan SmithA man in the Isles of Scilly says Storm Goretti delivered an intense few hours of extreme weather that downed trees "like matchsticks".
Jonathan Smith - who runs an organic fruit and vegetable farm on St Martin's - says this caused the power to go off overnight, plunging much of the Islands into an eerie darkness.
He says many trees have fallen down in the area as the wind was "really howling" in the early evening yesterday.
"The power went off about 6pm I think. No water, electricity or phone."
He says power came back on at about 08:00 today, and he is now able to get phone signal - but only on the island's mainland.
Trees fallen on houses and cars, boats blown over and a roof blown off a house. These images are among many showing the shocking aftermath of Storm Goretti as it left a trail of destruction in parts of Cornwall.
Image source, PA MediaThis tree toppled on to a house in Falmouth
A car was crushed by a fallen tree at Porthminster Terrace in St Ives
Image source, 360 CornwallYachts were blown over at a shipyard near Falmouth
A roof was blown off a house at Four Lanes
Image source, Cornish PiratesThe roof of the grandstand at the Cornish Pirates ground in Penzance was damaged
Sarah Lewis
BBC Guernsey
I've been out today since the early hours and went along with tree surgeons in Guernsey.
I think it's fair to say they've had a huge job on their hands, with trees down and blocking roads, and they've been trying to deal with it all while the conditions are still very windy.
There's been a lot of damage caused across the parts of Guernsey I've been to, including the pylons and netting at La Grande Mare Golf Course being damaged.
I think the scale of Goretti can be summed up by the fact there doesn't appear to be enough road closed signs to stop people from driving down affected roads, so motorists are travelling down roads where trees have fallen.
I've also seen cyclists and dog walkers go down roads where trees have fallen and the tree surgeons I was with had to tell them it was too dangerous to go there.
This feels a lot worse than when Storm Ciaran hit us and it doesn't feel like people were expecting that, it's been quite bad.
