Merseyside on alert as Storm Hector set to batter the region with 70mph winds

The Met Office has named storm Hector and will batter the UK overnight on Wednesday.

The strong winds and rain will arrive as an area of low pressure picks up strength over the Atlantic.

The strongest winds will reach Northern Ireland during the early hours of Thursday before spreading eastwards across other northern parts of the UK during the morning.

#StormHector has been named. Impacts will first be felt over western Ireland, before transferring to parts of the north of the UK early Thursday morning https://t.co/sTKuvdxuAh@MetEireann#weatherawarepic.twitter.com/cVWBclvc5Q

#StormHector has been named. Impacts will first be felt over western Ireland, before transferring to parts of the north of the UK early Thursday morning https://t.co/sTKuvdxuAh @MetEireann #weatheraware pic.twitter.com/cVWBclvc5Q

— Met Office (@metoffice) June 13, 2018

Westerly winds are likely to gust between 50 and 60 mph in many areas of Merseyside and possibly around 70 mph in some exposed locations.

The Met Office has warmed the region to expect coastal flooding from large waves, power cuts, damage to buildings and disruption to mobile phone services as Hector smashes into the country.