Big Wave!
© Paul Kingston/NNP/North News & Pictures, Ltd.A fisherman casts off into a rough North Sea near Sunderland, as winds whipped up waves before the storm.

One woman has died and another man was injured after trees fell on their cars as storms battered Britain and Ireland on Wednesday night. Forecasters said that winds of up to 90mph and flooding were forecast overnight and into Thursday.

Coastguards and an RAF helicopter were unable to find a 45-year-old missing sailor in weather conditions described as "very poor". The man fell overboard from a cargo ship moored on the River Trent in Lincolnshire.

Flood warnings were issued across Wales and in parts of Scotland and western England and thousands of homes after were left without power on Wednesday night. People living in parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland were told to be prepared for high winds.

The 23-year-old woman died from her injuries after paramedics cut her free from the wreckage, near Mullingar in County Westmeath, Ireland. She was trapped inside the vehicle after a tree fell on it. The woman was cut free but died around an hour and a half later.

And, in a separate incident, West Midlands Ambulance Service said an injured man was taken to hospital with head and chest injuries and two other occupants of the car were described as "walking wounded".

Train services were also affected by the inclement weather. South West Trains said that "numerous trees have fallen during [Wednesday] evening blocking lines". The lines between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth and between Axminster and Honiton were blocked, the company said.

Around 7,000 homes in Northern Ireland lost power, with 6,000 having their supply restored by late on Wednesday.

Electricity North West said that 3,500 properties in Cumbria and Lancashire were without power due to strong winds and debris bringing lines down.

A spokeswoman said: "We are trying to restore power to those homes as quick as we can but where lines have been brought down it will realistically take until tomorrow to get there."

Nearly 900 homes were also left without power in the Neath Valley, south Wales, after a high-voltage electrical cable was blown down at around 6pm.

Police closed the A595 at Moota in Cumbria after the roof was blown off a hotel.

A roof blew off another property in Seaton and disruption due to trees blocking roads was reported in Whitehaven and Hackthorpe.

The bad weather, caused by an Atlantic depression, saw Stoke City's home tie against Manchester United in the League Cup temporarily suspended due to heavy rain and hailstones.

Referee Mark Clattenburg briefly pulled players off the Britannia Stadium's pitch. Play was resumed shortly afterwards and United went on to win the quarter-final 0-2.

The Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan at Hillsborough was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch.

The Met Office issued 43 flood warnings in Britain on Wednesday night and into Thursday. Flooding was expected across Wales, in much of Scotland and in both the north west and south west of England. There were also 126 less serious "flood alerts" issued throughout Britain.