HIGH winds caused chaos across the North East tonight, with weather experts predicting they would continue throughout the night.
A 20 mile stretch of the A1 between Bradbury in County Durham and Gateshead was closed after multiple accidents, mainly involving high sided vehicles being blown over.
Despite the devastation no serious injuries had been reported to police.
Around 800 homes in Weardale were left without electricity when power lines were knocked down by the wind at around 12.30pm. All but 159 had power back by about 7pm, with most others due to have their supplies restored during the night.
The worst affected areas were around St Johns Chapel, Eastgate, Westgate, Daddrey Shield, Ireshopeburn and Rookhope.
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