Passengers and crew were airlifted to safety from a stricken ferry in the Irish Sea last night after it was hit by a freak wave caused by high winds and went aground.
The rescue attempt came after a day of stormy weather across the country, which caused travel chaos and claimed at least one life.
Last night the listing ferry, Riverdance, with 23 people on board, was in danger of capsizing. It had gone aground off Fleetwood, Lancashire, after it was hit by a huge wave off Morecambe Bay, shifting its cargo to one side.
Three helicopters, two from the RAF and one from the Coastguard, were scrambled to rescue some of the crew and four passengers on the roll-on roll-off vessel, which had been sailing from Warrenpoint in Northern Ire-land.
Among those rescued were a nine-month-old baby. There were no reports of injuries. The captain and eight crew were reported to have remained on board.
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Earlier yesterday, forecasters predicted that “Arctic winds” would bring blizzards and snow for the rest of the week.
A 45-year-old lorry driver died on the M6 near Tebay in Cumbria, when his lorry was blown over by winds gusting at 70mph. A 50-mile stretch of the M6 motorway in the county was closed to traffic after nine vehicles were blown onto their sides between junctions 36 and 44.
Winds gusted at speeds of up to 80mph in parts of the country, closing roads and motorways. A 20-year-old man was fighting for his life in hospital after a tree was blown on to his car in Guildford, Surrey.
In Scotland, the Forth Road Bridge, west of Edinburgh, was temporarily closed after a lorry overturned. When the bridge was reopened, access for high-sided vehicles, caravans and motorcycles was restricted because of the continuing high winds.
Police in Aberdeenshire said that heavy snow and fallen trees had led to road closures and minor accidents.
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In Wales, homes were left without electricity and some schools closed. About 1,000 homes were left without power in Gwynedd and two schools, John Beddoes High in Presteigne and Whitton Primary in Powys, were closed because of a power failure.
In Birmingham, an 11-month-old girl was blown from her pushchair into a lake as she fed the ducks. She was rescued when her mother jumped in to save her and then went in again to retrieve the pushchair, a spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance said.
The port of Dover in Kent was closed to shipping movements after gusts of wind were measured at 60mph. Kent Police also closed part of the M20 because of the port closure.
The Met Office issued severe weather warnings across the whole of the country for the next two days, predicting blizzards, and drifting or heavy snow.
Disruption to travel and power networks is likely, with northern areas likely to see up to eight inches of snow, and southern areas up to one or two inches.
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John Hammond, a Met Office spokesman, said: “We’ve been getting used to milder conditions with temperatures above average for parts of the winter so far. Now the winds are coming down from the Arctic, and may bring snow over the next day or so. It’s a timely reminder that it is winter.”
The Highways Agency, which is responsible for England’s motorways and A-roads, advised drivers to check the weather forecast and road conditions before leaving home.
Met Office scientists have also cautioned that Britain is set for at least 25 years of extreme weather.