HEAVY overnight windstorms caused major disruption on road and rail at rush hour this morning.

Gusts of up to 70 miles per hour led to problems with debris and tree branches being blown across highways, while the gable end of a house was blown down in Seaham, County Durham.

The entire stretch of the A1(M) between junctions 62 and 63, from Carrville, near Durham, to Chester-le-Street, was closed to traffic after a prefabricated building was blown off the back of a northbound lorry, sending debris flying across the southbound carriageway.

It caused subsequent tailbacks on the surrounding road network as commuters sought other means of getting to work while the clear up took place to remove the debris from the carriageway.

A power cut in the early hours caused problems in the Lanchester area, in north-west Durham, with St Bede’s RC School, and other nearby primary schools, closed.

Durham Police said the gable end of a property near New Seaham Primary School, in Byron Terrace, Seaham, was blown down in the storms, with no-one reported to have been injured, but concerns to close the nearby pavement and road to pedestrians.

The gable end of a house in Selkirk Street, Jarrow, South Tyneside, was also blown down, but there were no reports of any injuries.

Rail services between Scotland and the North-East were also affected by the high winds, with delays of at least 20 minutes on Cross Country and East Coast main line services.

All services north of Edinburgh were cancelled this morning, due to wind damage.

A stretch of the Tyne and Wear Metro network, between South Hylton and Pelaw, between Sunderland and South Tyneside, was closed due to debris on the line, while a breakdown on Northern Rail line between Newcastle and Sunderland led to temporary delays, but services were reported to have been restored by about 8.30am.