A train driver who narrowly escaped being killed in Storm Gerrit was not told of a warning from the public that a tree had fallen on the line, it has been alleged.
Rail passengers have been urged to delay their post-Christmas journeys as Storm Gerrit wreaked havoc on creaking infrastructure, with drivers stranded in snow, flights and ferries cancelled, and tens of thousands left in the cold and dark by power cuts.
The Met Office confirmed a supercell thunderstorm barrelled across Greater Manchester overnight causing major structural damage to houses in Stalybridge, Tameside, just before midnight.