A plane at Belfast airport crash landed after its front wheel collapsed while landing in high winds.
Britain has been battered by winds which have forced cancellations to flights and disrupted travel in the run up to Christmas.
Emergency services were dispatched to Belfast City Airport after a repositioning flight for Aer Lingus with no passengers on board experienced a hard landing, its nose hitting the tarmac, as it attempted to land in the high winds.
The runway has been closed while crews deal with the incident and is not expected to reopen until Monday.
A spokesperson for Belfast International Airport said: “Following the incident at Belfast City Airport this afternoon we have taken four diverted flights.
“As we already had a heavier schedule than usual, we are now, with these additional flights, close to capacity so we are limited in how many more redirected flights we can take this evening, however we will continue to support where possible.
The UK is expected to face a grey Christmas, but the ferocious winds which have hit the country this weekend will reduce over the next few days.
The Met Office said that it expected the weather to be cloudy, with some sunny spells in the east and mild temperatures for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Strong winds disrupted flights and ferries throughout Britain on Sunday
GERARD FERRY/ALAMY
Dan Stroud, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “We’re expecting to see some sunny spells further east and a lot of cloud from the west. Temperatures should rise considerably and it will be extremely mild over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“In England and Wales, temperatures will be well above average with some grey in the mix. We’re expecting an average of around 12C or 13C on Christmas Eve and 11C or 12C on Christmas Day. The usual average for this time of year is 7C or 8C so we’ll be around double where we usually are. Overnight temperatures in Scotland for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be extremely mild.”
Winds of up to 75mph hit parts of the UK on Sunday night, as the Christmas getaway period continued to be disrupted by bad weather.
The Met Office issued a new yellow warning for ice in parts of northeast Scotland, coming into force on Sunday night until 10am on Monday.
New Brighton, Merseyside
ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA
Heathrow airport said that about 100 flights were cancelled on Sunday, with passengers advised to check with their airline before travelling.
A Heathrow spokesman said: “We know how important travel at this time of year is and have extra colleagues on hand in our terminals to support people on their journeys. We encourage passengers to check with their airline for the latest information about their flight.”
P&O Ferries journeys between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in southern Scotland were cancelled. Several Loganair flights from Glasgow airport to the Hebridean islands were also cancelled as well as 18 CalMac ferry routes.
The strongest wind speed recorded was 82mph in Kirkwall, Orkney, and the South Uist Range.
The AA predicted that 21.3 million drivers would make journeys on Sunday, compared with the 22.7 million expected on Saturday.