A SEVERE weather warning was issued for south Essex with fears 70mph winds could batter the coastline.

The Met Office issued the yellow "be aware" severe weather warning yesterday warning of the strong gales and heavy rain to hit the East of England this morning.

Storms have caused widespread disruption in the north of the country with thousands of homes left without power, but they arrived in Southend yesterday morning causing damage to homes and businesses.

Firefighters and police closed off Alexandra Street at 10.45am after a banner outside Basement nightclub came loose, repeatedly smashing windows with its long supporting pole as it billowed in the wind.

Southend station officer Lee Burling said: “We received a call from PCSOs who had seen what was happening and they did quite a good job of keeping people away from it.

“The base had come off one of the banners outside the nightclub and the metal pole it was attached to smashed all the windows in the building above the nightclub as well as a couple of tiles and some of the guttering on the building next door.

“Two firefighters cut the banner down in the end at a height of about 35 feet in fairly windy and precarious conditions – it could have been quite nasty if it had got really windy and could have done damage to some of the roof areas.

“Thankfully no-one was hurt.”

Southend Council is using a weather radar to monitor conditions.

Martin Terry, Southend councillor responsible for public protection, said: “One of the issues with previous flood events has been flash flooding, but we have access to a very sophisticated weather radar at the council and we’ve been monitoring it very closely so will be responding as necessary to ensure we are protecting people as much as we can.”

Despite the assurances that the authorities have the matter under control, Martin Richardson of the Happidrome on Marine Parade is taking no chances and has spent £6,000 putting in a flood wall to prevent any repeat of September’s disastrous flooding.

He said: “I’ve been told I’m no longer covered on my insurance for flood damage because it’s happened so many times now so I can’t afford to take any risks.

“I shouldn’t have to do this, but the council has still done nothing to prevent these buildings from flooding again as a result of the poor construction of this seafront where all the water falls back here.”

Forecasters have dubbed the current conditions affecting the country as a weather bomb, also known as an explosive cyclogenesis.

It happens when the pressure at the centre of a storm drops rapidly, causing it to intensify.

Drivers in southern England and East Anglia are being advised to drive with extra care tonight and tomorrow morning after the Met Office warned of expected high winds.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for high winds, which is in place from 0010hrs until 0900hrs on Friday 12 December.

The forecast warns of winds gusting to around 50-60mph, and perhaps up to 70mph near the coast.

The Highways Agency is advising drivers to check conditions along their route before setting out on a journey, and to drive with extra care.

High-sided vehicles are particularly affected by windy weather but strong gusts can blow any vehicle, cyclist, motorcyclist, or horse rider off course.

Open section of roads or structures like bridges are often the most exposed section of roads and can experience strong crosswinds. Restrictions and delays are possible on exposed parts of the network such as the Dartford Crossing.

Highways Agency teams will be working throughout the night to monitor conditions and clear any incidents quickly and safely.

Live traffic information is available 24 hours a day on the Highways Agency’s website.