UK weather: Storm Antoni to wreak havoc across Britain as warning issued over 65mph winds

Flying debris has been identified as a particular problem but damage to buildings, travel disruption, power cuts and coastal issues could also be prevalent in impacted areas.

The UK's national weather service's yellow wind warning, which is in place between 8am and 8pm on Saturday, covers large swathes of the South West of England and parts of Wales.

The Met Office said: "An area of low pressure, Storm Antoni, will bring unseasonably windy conditions to south and southwestern areas of England and Wales during Saturday.

"Strong winds are likely to affect Irish Sea coastal areas from early morning, pushing gradually south and east and spreading inland.

"By the afternoon English Channel coasts will also see some very windy conditions.

"Gusts of 35-40 mph are expected widely, with 50-55 mph along coastal stretches across the warning area.

"The strongest winds, however, will affect parts of southwest Wales and southwest England, where gusts could reach 50-55 mph inland for a time and perhaps 60-65 mph along exposed coastal areas and over high ground.

"Later in the afternoon and through the early evening, wind strengths will begin to slowly ease from the west."

A separate rain warning has been issued covering a majority of Northern Ireland from midnight to 11am.

The Met Office said: "Storm Antoni is expected to bring unseasonably wet and windy conditions and may lead to some disruption on Saturday morning."

It added: "Heavy and persistent rain will spread across Northern Ireland during Friday night before clearing from the west Saturday late morning and early afternoon.

"Widely, totals of 20-30mm of rain are possible with the heaviest and most persistent rain expected in the south, and perhaps also east of the country, affecting parts of County Down and Belfast.

"Here 40-60mm is possible in some places with perhaps as much as 20-30mm of this falling in 3 or 4 hours.

"Meanwhile, 70mm may fall over parts of the Mourne Mountains.

"In the south, wet weather will be accompanied by quite windy conditions, gusts of 40 to 45 mph possible in some coastal parts of County Down during the morning."

Despite torrid conditions over the weekend, Britons have been given new hope of a last-minute summer heatwave.

Much of the country could see mercury teeter towards 30C on August 12, leading independent forecaster NetWeather has claimed.

London is expected to record the warmest temperatures, with 28C forecast for the capital.

But other parts of southern England will also see mercury stand between 26C and 27C.