Strong winds taking place today (December 23rd) and tomorrow in the UK pose a strong risk to transport.

With winds as high as 80 miles per hour (mph), many operators are asking passengers to travel earlier in the day, as later services may be reduced or cancelled.

Network Rail believes this is a problem due to the busy volumes expected in the run-up to Christmas and has engineers on standby to react to problems when they occur.

Its managing director of operational services Robin Gisby said the organisation's aim "is running as many trains as we can safely, rather than worrying about hitting the timetable bang on".

Likewise, the Highways Agency has issued an amber alert, which serves as a warning for drivers in the east, south-east and south-west regions, where heavy rain and high winds are most likely to occur.

The weather comes after previous storms were seen at the beginning of the month, with winds reaching as high as 140 mph. This resulted in cancellations and disturbances to transport operations.