GALE force winds of up to 60 mph left a trail of destruction across North Staffordshire and South Cheshire.

Homes were damaged, power supplies went down and roads were closed as the strong gusts battered the region yesterday.

Emergency services were called out to dozens of incidents as a result of the weather, starting in the early hours of yesterday.

Many residents woke to find scenes of destruction near their homes, or encountered fallen trees blocking roads during their morning journeys.

Iris Johnson, from Newcastle, was woken by the loud crash of a tree falling into her back yard at around 5.15am yesterday.

The tree fell from the Cherry Tree pub nearby and hit the roof of her bathroom.

Another three properties were also affected.

Iris, aged 59, who had to take the day off work from Shoe Zone, in Newcastle, to deal with the aftermath, said: "I couldn't stop shaking for about 15 minutes after it happened. It was very scary.

"The tree has been outside the pub for as long as I have lived here, which is 40 years. It took some tiles off my roof and all my guttering.

"I'm lucky the pub has been so good by getting someone out to move it."

The Thorncliffe weather station, near Leek, recorded wind speeds of between 55 mph and 60 mph.

Areas in the north of England recorded gusts of around 70 mph.

The highest figure was 112 mph at a weather station 3,000ft above sea level in the Pennines on Wednesday night.

Other incidents in North Staffordshire included brickwork coming away from the gable end of a property in Bains Grove, Bradwell. The family were evacuated at 5am.

In Hanley, the Job Centre Plus was closed all day due to metal sheeting falling off the roof.

And police closed part of Upper Huntbach Street as well as St John Street car park for safety reasons. They were expected to remain closed today.

More than 1,000 properties also suffered from a loss of power during the day.

Western Power said residents across the area were affected.

A spokesman said: "High winds caused faults on lines and problems across the area, including a number in Uttoxeter."

In Cheshire, police were called to more than 20 incidents where trees had fallen down between 6am and 2pm, when the bad weather relented.

Officers in Staffordshire were also taking frequent calls.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: "We responded to a high volume of weather-related calls throughout the county yesterday and our vehicles may well have been affected by the road and traffic conditions too, which, along with the volume of calls, may have affected response times. People are asked to only dial 999 in an emergency and to be patient when bad weather hits."

According to the Met Office, the winds were due to continue dying down today, with gusts falling to around 30 mph.

Heavy showers are due to hit the area tonight but the rain should quickly die out.