Chaos at Reading and Leeds pageant as excessive winds shut phases

Festivalgoers at Creamfields, Reading and Leeds have been battered by gusts of wind and downpours overnight as Storm Lilian has forced one site to close its stages. 

Campers braced the brutal gales last night as Lilian gripped parts of northern England and Wales.

Amid the gloomy weather, the Met Office issued a ‘danger to life’ alert as well as a yellow warning with winds of 50-60mph expected to hit the region until 11am. 

Many festivalgoers were rudely awaken by the stormy conditions today, as others clung to their tents to stop them flying away.

To the dismay of Leeds attendees, weather conditions has forced the festival to close its BBC Radio 1 stage and its Aux stage. 

As organisers remain hopeful they won’t have to sacrifice any more performances, it remains uncertain how unpredictable weather will impact the event.

Several videos emerged of music lovers waking up to shaking tents at Leeds festival today, as one was spotted flying sky-high. 

One Leeds festivalgoer described it as the ‘worst day ever’ as her tent was destroyed and her group have been asked to leave their area because the windy conditions are ‘really bad’.

Carrie Gill, 19, said: ‘Basically our whole tent is gone’ and she has spent £60 on a new tipi tent, which she has not been able to erect yet because of the weather.

‘All the rain came in because the poles pulled so hard from the wind the fabric ripped open and leaked the whole tent with the rain. 

‘We even put those rock plastic pegs in the bottom and they have snapped.’

The Durham University student added: ‘We aren’t allowed back into the area for hours, all our stuff is in our mates’ tent, phones on 30%. 

‘All the stores have blown over, the urinal walls are gone and lads are just pissing against fences, people’s tents are in the sky, the store shops are all over the floor and shirts and things from stores are gone. It’s honestly really bad here.’

She is currently waiting in a McDonald’s and said she will be there ‘for a while it looks like.’ 

She also revealed that if her new tipi ‘doesn’t last’, she will be forced to return home.

‘As you can imagine being a student, it’s quite an expensive festival to be going to and to be let down like this,’ she added.

Amid the weather chaos, Leeds Festival has urged attendees to stay in tents if they are on site and feel safe to do so. 

They added: ‘If you are in your car, please remain there. If you are not yet at the festival site, please delay your arrival. 

‘We’re expecting it to ease up at 10am and we will update you in 30 minutes. Your safety is our number one priority. Remember to look out for each other.

Similarly to the less than happy campers in Leeds, revellers at Creamfields in Cheshire suffered countryside hell this morning. 

Videos captured at the wet and windy festival, showed glum festivalgoers wrestling with the wind to keep their belongings on the ground. 

As wind and heavy downpour bashed against her tent, one reveller said: ‘This is the wind.

‘It’s not…it’s really not good. There’s water in our tent. Everyone’s screaming,’ she said as her tent began to cave in. 

Even though the weather is looking slightly sunnier down south in Reading, one sleepy camper was caught up in last night’s windy weather. 

Appearing to have been blown away, the ruffled reveller was helped out of her blue tent by staff. 

Although the weather is more promising in Reading today, they should brace themselves for damp and wet weather.

According to the Met Office, there will be downpour early Saturday but fairly settled conditions are likely to develop across southern and eastern England and Wales. 

The warning stretches from the Isle of Wight up to Ipswich in Suffolk and includes London. 

The Met Office says people in the area should expect ‘spells of rain, heavy at times, likely to cause some travel disruption and perhaps flooding in a few places’. 

It comes as thousands of homes across Cheshire, Yorkshire and North Staffordshire were left without power this morning as Storm Lillian begins its forecast day of disruption in the region. 

SP Energy Networks has reported outages across Cheshire with some restored, but thousands of homes remaining without power. 

The power cuts are currently ongoing in Chester, Tarporley, Knutsford, Warrington, Lymm, Runcorn, Norley, Malpas, Nantwich, Alsager, and Northwich. 

Three hundred houses in Durham as well as 80 houses in Yorkshire were also left without electricity overnight. 

Over 1,300 homes in North Staffordshire were hit with power cuts affecting Madeley, Keele, Bignall End and Halmerend and other nearby areas.

As it stands National Grid is reporting 80 properties affected around Madeley and Keele, 1,173 across Bignall End and Halmerend, 54 over High lane and Brown Edge, 20 in Longsdon and Kidsgrove, and 37 in Cheddleton.

British Airways has cancelled 14 flights scheduled to take off from Heathrow on Friday and delayed others, according to the airline’s website.

The cancellations include international flights to Italy, Switzerland and the US as well as domestic journeys to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

But it’s not only some aircrafts that have been brought to a standstill,  as travel chaos ensues on the railways with a train crashing into a tree in Kent this morning. 

It was also a commuter’s nightmare in Wrexham, Chester, Carlisle, Chester,  as well as in other northern cities as services were delayed or cancelled this morning.

Elsewhere in Anglesey, north Wales, surfers used the crashing winds to their advantage and took to the waves.

It comes as Met Office issued ‘danger to life’ alerts as Storm Lilian is expected to wreak havoc across the country. 

Two yellow weather warnings were issued for rain in south-west Scotland and the Aberdeenshire coast from 9pm on Thursday to 9am on Friday. 

The Met Office has also urged drivers to take care on the roads, and warned revellers at Leeds Festival to secure the tents as the storm is set to batter northern parts of England and Wales. 

Gusts of up to 80mph are also expected, with travel disruption, flooding, power cuts and dangerous conditions near coastal areas likely, according to the forecaster. 

There is the possibility of thunder, while 20-30mm of rainfall is expected widely across both areas – with a chance of 40-50mm over higher ground.

Another yellow wind warning was issued in north England and Wales until 11am on this morning, with the storm widely expected to bring winds of 50-60mph to the area.

At 5am this morning, the Met Office took to X (formerly Twitter): ‘Winds are now strengthening in many areas with the strongest winds occurring during the next few hours across northern England and north Wales

‘Damaging gusts are possible in places so ensure you stay weather aware.’

It comes as Storm Lilian is already affecting roads outside of the expected regions, as the M48 Severn Bridge has been closed in both directions. 

National Highways have urged motorists to use the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge, due to the alternative being closed due to strong winds. 

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: ‘The strongest winds are likely to start forming through the early hours initially across parts of north Wales into the Liverpool, Blackpool area, and then crossing over the Pennines and into the east and north-east England – Yorkshire, up to Northumberland before then clearing out into the North Sea.

‘So it’s really quite quick.’

The storm is predicted to ‘wane’ by later this afternoon as it pushed away into the North Sea, with scattered showers expected to continue for the rest of the day, Mr Dixon said.   

Parts of the north and northwest will can expect fairly unpredictable weather moving into the weekend. 

According to the forecaster, various fronts moving in will bring more persistent rain, particularly for parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Lilian is the 12th named storm of the season – the furthest the Met Office have got through the list since it was introduced – and the first since April.

Storms are named when they have the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning, the Met Office said.

The RAC estimated that 19.2 million leisure trips by car would be made over the weekend, with 3.2 million on Friday alone.

This is highest since the motoring services company began recording data for the summer bank holiday in 2015.

RAC Breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson said the adverse weather and large volume of expected trips represented ‘a perfect storm’ for drivers.

She said: ‘Anyone driving in areas impacted by Storm Lilian should try to avoid exposed coasts and higher routes where there’s a greater chance of fallen branches and trees. It’s vital to lower your speeds and leave plenty of extra stopping distance to allow yourself time to react quickly. 

‘Drivers should keep a firm grip on the steering wheel and take extra care when passing high-sided vehicles which can cause an unnerving buffeting effect when you’re suddenly hit by the wind on the other side.’

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: ‘We are closely monitoring the potential impact that the storm might have on the rail network.

‘We have teams on hand to put in appropriate measures, if necessary, to ensure that we can continue to run trains safely and as reliably as possible.’

Regarding recent cancellations in light of the storm, A British Airways spokesperson said: ‘Due to restrictions imposed by Air Traffic Control as a result of adverse weather across the UK, we’ve made some minor adjustments to our schedule. 

‘We’ve apologised to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans and to help get them to their destinations as quickly as possible.’