High winds battered west Wales on Wednesday, closing schools, roads and businesses, and leaving a trail of debris and destruction.

A red weather warning was issued for the coastline on Wednesday, and winds of nearly 100mph caused chaos throughout the counties.

Homes were left without electricity, and council employees worked into the night to deal with the volume of incidents, and the clean-up operation continued into Thursday, with some local school, including Beulah and Maenclochog remaining closed due to power cuts.

Hurricane Force 12 winds were recorded off the Pembrokeshire coast, and pedestrians and motorists were urged to take extreme care when approaching buildings and trees in the severe weather conditions.

Police received a number of reports of roofing material being blown off buildings in Cardigan, and a decision was made to close Cardigan High Street due to the danger posed by falling slates. The street remained closed to vehicles on Thursday morning for storm debris to be cleared.

Aberystwyth Justice Centre was forced to close as strong gales tore tiles from the roof, and a number of cases had to be adjourned until next week.

Fire crews responded to a number of calls throughout Wednesday afternoon and into the evening, and fallen trees blocked several roads.

Cardigan crew dealt with an unsafe chimney due to high winds in Gwbert Road, loose corrugated sheets at Tesco’s garage and slates falling on to the pavement outside Lloyds Bank in High Street.

Crymych fire-fighters dealt with loose slates at local properties, tress which brought down power lines in Boncath, and a large tree which had fallen against a property.

In Newcastle Emlyn a roof was blown off and had to be dismantled and made safe by the local fire crew, while another unstable roof had to be removed at Ty Hen.

A large tree had to be made safe after falling outside a Tegryn property, and around ten trees were found leaning against a house in Penrhiwllan were made safe by Llandysul fire crew and a tree surgeon.

A shed blew onto a dwelling in Pentre Cwrt and a loose roof was made safe by New Quay fire crew near Ffos y Ffin.

Flooding was reported on the Gwaun Valley road and on the A487 near Newport, and the National Park dealt with several landslips on the coast path.

A number of fallen trees led to the temporary closure of some roads in Ceredigion, and the council dealt with a number of problems on minor roads throughout the county.

Pembrokeshire County Council staff worked hard overnight clearing away fallen trees, debris and roof tiles, in a bid to get traffic moving around the county again, dealing with more than 150 reports of trees, large branches and debris.

The County Council’s contact centre received 3,184 calls - more than 2,000 extra.