Severe gales cause widespread travel disruption

A large tree has fallen on cars on Mona Drive, in Douglas, as Storm Chandra battered the island

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

Several flights to and from the island, all of Tuesday's ferry crossings between Douglas and Heysham have been cancelled, and the A18 Mountain Road has been closed on safety grounds.

Fallen trees have also led to the closure of several 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 was issued by Ronaldsway Met Office until 12:00 GMT.

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

Loganair flights to Liverpool, Manchester, London Heathrow and Dublin have been grounded due to high winds

Along with Mountain Road, Mona Drive in Douglas, Kentraugh Road in Port St Mary, and the Switchback Road in St John's were closed due to "fallen trees, standing water, flooding and fallen debris", police said.

A stretch of the TT course between Kirk Michael and Ballig Bridge was also closed for a time.

Bus Vannin said its X3 bus route was diverted via Laxey after the closure of A18.

The Department of Infrastructure (DoI) warned commuters to plan their journeys "accordingly" as its teams worked to clear the blocked roads.

Isle of Man Post Office said deliveries would be made where possible, but on if it was safe for staff to do so.

A tree fell onto two parked cars outside the Queen's Hotel in Laxey overnight

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 organise 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 also confirmed its accessibility sessions at the Bottleneck Car Park in Douglas - planned to demonstrate how new mobility scooter-friendly routes would work - had been postponed until 14:00 due tot he 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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