High winds and heavy rain are causing travel disruption and power cuts as Storm Austen sweeps across the region.

Devon County Council has issued advice to residents to stay safe and prepared .

While a Met Office yellow weather warning covers Devon and Cornwall until 5pm tonight, West Devon was under a higher amber weather warning for wind with gusts of 55-60mph recorded. But this has now lapsed. The highest wind speeds have been recorded as about 70mph. High gusts are expected to continue before the worst of the weather passes later this afternoon, while heavy rain will also continue to make travel difficult.

Torridge Bridge over the estuary at Bideford is closed in both directions due to high gusting winds. Drivers are advised to drive with care as the weather has dislodged stone and earth alongside roads and felled trees. Standing water is reported on many roads. The Torpoint Ferry is down to one boat service due to maintenance, meaning extra pressure on the Tamar Bridge which is exposed to the strongest winds.

Cornwall and Devon residents have been hit by power cuts with 9,000 homes affected by fallen power lines, with a school in north Devon, Horwood and Newton Tracey Primary School at Lovacott near Barnstaple, closed due to a power cut caused by the storm. Many Plymouth schools have been opening later today to give parents and pupils on delayed buses extra time to reach them.

Train travellers are asked to check timetables before leaving home as Cross Country services have been cancelled between Plymouth and Penzance, while GWR says its services will not return to normal until later this afternoon due to bad weather. Flights have been cancelled serving Exeter Airport. Trains are suspended today between Okehampton and Exeter due to severe weather and a replacement bus service laid on. A tree fell onto the Bere Alston to Plymouth railway line overnight forcing services to be postponed until at least 12noon today.

High winds brought a tree down on the Tavistock side of Greystone Bridge on the road to Launceston last night. Drivers cleared the trees and dislodged stones after damage to two cars which hit them in the dark.

A fallen tree has put a bus out of action travelling between Tavistock and Bere Alston due to a tree falling onto its windscreen about two miles from the village early this morning. Drivers are also reporting fallen trees partly blocking the road between Tavistock and Lamerton, between Callington and Tavistock and at Gunnislake. A long tailback of stationary cars is also causing frustration near the Tavistock Inn at Poundsgate.

The National Trust’s Buckland Abbey at Buckland Monachorum south of Tavistock is closed today and tomorrow (Saturday) due to the storm. The abbey is staging its harvest displays of pumpkins and a giant cabbage this weekend.

Meanwhile, a Devon County Council spokesman has issued general safety advice: “Residents are advised to secure loose items outside, charge phones and other essential devices.

“Please check conditions before travelling, plan routes and look out for road closures or delays. Anyone who lives or works on the coast should take extra care during windy and stormy weather.

“People with vulnerable neighbours are asked to check in on them because they might need extra support in bad weather.”