More than a thousand homes in Norfolk were left without power as the county was hit by winds of up to 60mph.

The blustery weather on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, amid a Met Office yellow weather warning, has caused problems with overhead electricity equipment.

And drivers who do need to head out amid coronavirus lockdown restrictions are being urged to take extra care.

As of 9am, winds had been recorded at speeds of 60mph at Marham and Weybourne and at 55mph at Norwich Airport.

Homes in areas such as Thetford, Dereham, Swaffham, Hunstanton, Blakeney, Hingham, Aylsham were among hundreds left without power.

Engineers from UK Power Networks have been out since the early hours trying to fix the issue and some homes have had power restored.

But others have been told they might not have their electricity restored until later today.

Drivers who need to make essential journeys have been encouraged to be extra careful amid the blustery and rainy conditions.

Norfolk County Council urged people to take extra caution and report any problems on the roads.

A fallen tree had blocked the B1145 between Cawston and Aylsham on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, a long-standing flood warning and two flood alerts remain in place for parts of Norfolk.

The flood warning is for the River Burn, from South Creake to Burnham Thorpe.

The Environment Agency said the B1355 could be susceptible to flooding.

They said: "River and groundwater levels remain high and are expected to remain high for the next few days.

"Areas most at risk are North Creake, South Creake and Burnham Thorpe including the B1355.

"Take care on riverside footpaths and don't put yourself in unnecessary danger."

Forecasters at the University of East Anglia-based Weatherquest said the region would remain windy for much of the day.

They said it would be: "Very windy this morning, with strong to near gale force south westerly winds, widely gusting 55 to 60mph, easing a touch later, but still windy.

"Cloudy with rain at first, clearing to the east to leave sunny spells and heavy, blustery showers."

They said temperatures would reach a maximum of 9C to 11C.

Dan Holley, from Weatherquest, said that the highest windspeeds recorded in Norfolk as of 9am today were in Weybourne and Marham.

He said winds had reached 60mph there, while they had been registered at 59mph in Tibenham and 55mph at Norwich airport.

The windy weather has seen emergency services called to several incidents across the area, including:

  • Reports of an unsafe structure in Upwell in the early hours. Fire crews from Outwell joined the police in making the structure, in Dovecote Road, safe, just after 2am.
  • A large fallen tree on the A1075 at Great Hockham just before 7.30am. The debris had been cleared by around 8am.
  • A fallen tree on B1436 at Roughton at 3.45am, which was cleared just after 4am.
  • A damaged drain cover reported on the A148 at East Rudham at 7.50am. Highways are aware and police remain at the scene.
  • A fallen tree on the A47 at Hockering at around 7am, blocking the road near to the Barnham Broom junction. Passers-by with a saw managed to cut the tree and move it off the road, which was cleared within 30 minutes.

Police said that, as of 9am, they had received 33 calls relating to highway obstructions since midnight.

Meanwhile, East Midlands Railway trains, which run between Norwich and Liverpool, are being disrupted because of a broken down train at Manea, between Ely and Peterborough.

The Met Office's yellow warning of wind, which covers much of the country, is in place until 3pm today (Thursday, March 11).