High winds have caused chaos across the north east of England.

Police and fire crews have been called to a number of weather-related incidents on the roads with trees being uprooted and high-sided vehicles overturned.

Police in North Yorkshire are advising motorists not to take high-sided vehicles on to the A1 after one man died when high winds blew over eight heavy goods vehicles in unconnected incidents.

The man was killed when his articulated lorry was blown onto its side at 12.03pm today on the southbound carriageway of the A1 near Catterick, North Yorkshire. Paramedics arrived but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Earlier today a man in his 80s was taken to Harrogate District General hospital with head and arm injuries after he was blown off his feet in Ripon Marketplace, in North Yorkshire.

Ground crews at Newcastle Airport were also forced to shackle light aircraft in a sheltered area after strong winds threatened to blow a plane away.

One person was taken to Ashington hospital by ambulance after wind blew bricks and debris from a roof ledge above a shop in Morpeth, Northumberland, onto the pavement below.

An articulated lorry was blown over on top of a car at Stannington, Northumberland. No-one was in the car at the time.

Sub Officer Ian Woods of Northumberland Fire and Rescue said: "It is chaos everywhere. We are inundated with calls.

"On the A1 wagons are turning over all over the place. An artic did blow over on top of a car but there was no-one in it. A person was also injured by flying debris in Morpeth."

Around 200 pupils from Dunn St Primary School in Jarrow, South Tyneside, were sent home after classroom windows shattered, spraying glass everywhere.

No pupils were injured.

A South Tyneside Council spokesman said: "All parents were notified to arrange for children to be taken home."

Major routes around the region were all affected by the weather.

The A66 trans-Pennine route and A689 road across the Newton Cap viaduct at Bishop Auckland, County Durham, were both closed to high-sided vehicles and caravans.

In Newcastle, the Redheugh Bridge was closed to all forms of transport after a vehicle was blown over.

Drivers of goods vehicles were asked to pull over on the A19 and A1M in County Durham and Northumberland until the winds subsided.

An HGV was blown over on the southbound carriageway of the A19 at the Low Hills roundabout in Peterlee and another lorry overturned on the A1M northbound half-a-mile south of Junction 61 at Bowburn, near Durham.

Two articulated lorries blew over on the A1 two miles south of Alnwick. A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: "We are receiving numerous reports of fallen trees and overturned vehicles which are blocking parts of roads and there are also reports of falling debris from buildings and other structures."

Despite the turbulent weather conditions, Newcastle Airport was managing to keep most of its scheduled and chartered services running to time.

A Newcastle Airport spokeswoman said: "Scheduled and chartered flights have arrived and departed on time from Newcastle Airport today in spite of the strong winds - the only exception being the 12.05pm BA 7666 flight from Cardiff and the 12.45pm BA 7665 departure to Cardiff which were cancelled due to the weather. No other flights have been affected."