Winds gusting at speeds exceeding 100mph are battering parts of the UK after the Met Office issued its first “red warning” of the winter, meaning there could be a risk to life.

“I’m the landlady of the Cove House Inn in Chiswell and we were hit by a session of massive waves last Wednesday. It was very, very scary – very rough. The waves must have been about 100ft high and came crashing through at about 10:30 in the morning. I got caught in an earlier wave and was washed down the slope to the road, there was no way anyone in their right mind would go out in that weather.

Amanda Broughton-South says she's never seen anything like the huge waves in Chiswell before

“Downstairs wasn’t too bad as we had shutters on the windows. But the waves penetrated the second and third floor windows and flooded the bedrooms, with water pouring through the ceilings into the pub.

“It was over in a couple of hours but it poured and poured with rain for two days solid. We had to shut the pub for a few days but it is open again now. It’s still blustering out there though – we’ve boarded up every window, it’s like living in a prison because you can’t see out.

“We are waiting for insurers but I reckon we are looking at about £10,000 to £15,000 worth of damage. David Cameron came to the pub yesterday and said there would be unlimited funding.

“The pub is right on the seafront but I’ve never seen anything like it in the three years I’ve been a landlady here. I think there was horrendous weather in 1979 and then the pub was shut for about three months.”

“We don’t usually have a river view – we very much do now. Our ground floor is under water, just below the waist, so we’ve been camping out upstairs. If it rises another 40cm we’ll have to think about moving out. You can’t even get outside in wellington boots because it’s that deep. The depth of the water is terrifying here. You would have to take a kayak.

“We’ve been without heating since January, when we were first flooded. We got the builders to start fixing things, but then it re-flooded. Yesterday the water pump went. We can run limited water but we have no shower or washing machine.

“Luckily we have lovely friends who are helping us and we’re going to the sports club with the kids to shower there. Our road has set up a little ferry to get to and from the house. We have had no contact from anyone about the flood other than the automatic warning service.

“We had no idea when we bought the house that it it was so vulnerable to flooding, but a lot of people in the road are having a worse time than us. “

Paul Bennett is worried about his 79-year-old mother who lives in Egham, Surrey

“My mum’s house in Egham is at risk of being flooded. She’s 79, lives alone and is disabled, so she’s quite stressed.

“The water is about three feet deep in the garden. Her car’s already been written off. Luckily her house is built on stilts, but other houses in her street have already flooded by at least a foot.

“When I left my mother at 21.30 last night there were only a few houses with lights on. It’s a deserted street but she’s adamant she wants to stay in her home.

“The water rose by about an inch over night. She still has electricity and gas, but the toilets aren’t working. She feels a sense of impending doom and couldn’t sleep last night as she could hear water lapping outside. If it does flood, she’ll come and stay with me, but it will be under protest.”

Tom Upton drove into a sandstorm in Swansea

“I was with my girlfriend, driving, when the wind started picking up enormous amounts of sand. We couldn’t see what was happening because of the amount of sand in the air. It was pretty crazy.

“People were hiding in bus stops, one man was hiding his dog under his coat. It was horrendous.

“We then went up the coast and the storms were even worse. The wind would blow you over.”

Aaron Singh, 23, is concerned about his parents’ home in Wraysbury, Berkshire

“I have lived in Wraysbury my whole life and it’s never been this bad. Our houses are built high here but the water has started coming into the ground floors now – there are about four inches of water in the house.

“There was a flood in 2003 which was almost as high and made insurance so expensive – many people, including my parents, couldn’t afford to pay the premiums for such a rare occurrence.

“My brother and I worked all day into the night trying to make flood defences with sheets of wood and plastic, moving furniture upstairs as best as we could.

“We’ve received no real help other than one boat passing asking us to evacuate. They say they’ll send sandbags but it’s too little too late.”

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