'Major incident' declared in Dawlish as storms batter Devon

A major incident has been declared in Dawlish after part of the railway line was left suspended in mid air as storms battered Devon.

Twenty people were evacuated from their homes in the town, meanwhile two people were rescued from a vehicle which was trapped in floodwater about 9.20 last night.

Police have asked that people wanting to see the scene at Dawlish stay away to "allow responders to do everything possible to help local residents."

Devon and Cornwall Police took 400 999 calls last night and over 100 trees were brought down in the wild weather.

David Cameron will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee later to consider the government's response to the flooding across the South West.

It is the first time this year that the prime minister will have chaired a meeting of Cobra to discuss the floods and follows widespread criticism of Environment Secretary Owen Paterson's handling of the crisis.

Thirty metres of sea wall was washed away under the railway line at Dawlish. There was also flooding in Topsham where water on The Strand was said to be up to 'waist level'. The Lighter Inn was surrounded by water.

Network Rail said there had been 'substantial damage' to the network and that construction crews were out and about assess the situation.

Up to 150ft (46m) of railway track has been destroyed and Dawlish train station has also been damaged, Network Rail added.

Exmouth and Sidmouth Seafronts have been closed due to the high winds and water.

Torquay seafront is also now closed from the Pavilion to Preston Down Road leaving bus services unable to access Belgrave Road from the seafront

Buses will be diverted to Fleet Walk Unitil the road is re-opened while all buses going to Paignton will use the ring road.

Fire services have said they responded to over 35 flooding incidents last night, with four people rescued from cars in floodwater.

Several accidents including on the M5 southbound between J28, A373 (Cullompton Services) and J29, A30 (Exeter) have also caused road closures.

The M5 has since been reopened but motorists are reminded to take care when using the roads.

Meanwhile, high wind has blown over power lines in Sidbury, BT work crews are on the scene dealing with a fallen telegraph pole across the road. Police say the delays are likely to persist until mid-morning.

Severe flooding on the promenade in Kingsbridge has closed a section of the A379 while further floods in Combe Martin have reached the A399.

Fallen trees and flooding in Slapton has also blocked roads and are causing severe delays

In Exeter the wind has blown over two trees on Bridge road and colloposed a wall on Fore Street, meanwhile the Marsh Barton road has seen traffic delayed by flooding.

Winds of up to 92mph (148km/h) were reported in the Isles of Scilly, while Devon and Cornwall Police received 300 emergency calls overnight.

the police also say they have had reports of over 100 fallen trees overnight

Major disruption to First Great Western and CrossCountry trains, with no trains or buses running between Plymouth and Penzance

Today Exeter City Council workers were filling sandbags for residents in the town ahead of this morning's high tide. Exmouth and Sidmouth sea fronts were being closed as a precautuon.

The Pouncil has also aksed for help to identify anyone who is sleeping rough during the extreme wet and windy weather.

People are urged to call the Devon and Cornwall Rough Sleeper Hotline on 0800 151 3441 if they are aware of anyone who may be at risk from the storms.

Cllr Rob Hannaford, Lead Councillor for Housing and Customer Access, said: "We have activated our Severe Weather Provision and our outreach team is currrently working with St Petrocks to identify vulnerable rough sleepers to assist with accommodation. It is likely that this situation will continue for the next couple of days.

"We are doing everything possible to identify these people but would ask that if anyone has any concerns about anyone who is in a vulnerable situation sleeping rough, particularly in places that we may not be aware of, to contact the Devon and Cornwall Rough Sleepers Line, on 0800 151 3441.".

The Met office upgraded their weather warnings early this morning to 'amber' warning that winds could exceed 70mph and "dangerously large waves"could eaily overtop the coast.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has issued a number of severe flood warnings across the South West.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "High sea levels combined with strong winds and large waves will increase the risk of coastal flooding along the south west and southern coasts and after the wettest January on record in places, further widespread rain could cause river and surface water flooding into the weekend.

"Our teams continue to be out in force, deploying demountable defences, deploying sandbags along riverbanks, clearing river blockages, monitoring water levels, and sending out flood warnings."

However, Stagecoach South West reported no significant disruption to its services.

A spokeswoman said: "Despite the severe weather continuing all night we are not currently reporting many problems on our network.

"We would advise all customers to keep up to date with the latest travel news as well as checking our service updates at www.stagecoachbus.com/southwest for latest information.

"We anticipate we may find problems serving certain routes due to fallen trees and flooding as more services run out across the next couple of hours.

"The 52B cannot currently serve Sidbury and is going along Seaton Road then down Branscombe Cross, picking up at the Hare & Hounds to resume normal route.

All 4 buses are currently diverting via Rockbeare Village and Gribble Lane leaving one stop unserved between these two locations.

Torquay seafront is currently closed meaning Gold, Hop12, 12a and schools services 30a and 30b are diverting via the ring road.

North Devon services are currently operating normally.

PICTURE: Courtesy of Teignbridge District Council

* Yesterday evening’s Under-21 Premier League Cup quarter-final between Exeter and Burnley at St James' Park was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Supporters that bought tickets in advance should hold onto their tickets which will be valid for the rearranged fixture.