Batten down the hatches and stay indoors on Sunday night!That was the advice today from weather experts as Britons were told to prepare for the strongest storm of the winter.

Batten down the hatches and stay indoors on Sunday night!

That was the advice today from weather experts as Britons were told to prepare for the strongest storm of the winter.

Winds of up to 80mph are expected to tear through parts of the country as a band of exceptionally low pressure is forecast.

High winds and heavy rain are expected to climax on Monday morning when the deepening low-pressure system swings east across the UK.

Trees will be uprooted and buildings suffer structural damage, but at this stage forecasters are not predicting the gale will be as severe as the devastating storm of October 1987.

Pressure in the centre of the low could fall to 935mb west of Ireland. The lowest pressure yet recorded over the UK was 925.6mb at Ochtertyre, near Stirling, in Perthshire in 1884.

However, the storm forecast for Monday is unlikely to be quite that deep when it crosses the country.

The east coast is expected to escape the worst of the storm, with Wales and south-west England bearing the brunt. Other parts of England will experience frequent gusts of 40-50mph.

The exact track of the storm is unlikely to be known until Sunday and the public should keep a close eye on the forecasts as severe damage is a possibility in many areas.