THE A66 has been closed to high sided vehicles tonight as winds of up to 70mph batter Cumbria.

The road has been shut at Brough.

The Met Office says a yellow wind warning which came into force at 11am today will remain in place until 6am tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile a flood warning remains in place for Keswick Campsite along with a couple of flood alerts following heavy rain yesterday and a warning of ice has been issued north of the border.

Cumbria will be feeling the affects of Storm Ewan - named by the Irish meteorological service Met Éireann and which will mainly impact southern areas of Ireland today - and the forecaster says an area of "very strong winds" is likely to move northeastwards over parts of the northwest of the UK.

Gusts could reach up to 70 mph in exposed locations while inland parts of the county are more likely to see isolated gusts of 50 mph to 60 mph.

Some disruption to transport is possible and heavy rain main also prove an

additional hazard, the Met Office says.

The chief forecaster said: "An area of low pressure is expected to begin developing to the west of the Republic of Ireland on Sunday morning before moving northeastwards across Scotland.

"This will generate some very strong winds to the south of the low centre. However there is a lot of uncertainty over the exact track and depth of this system and therefore the strongest winds."

The ice warning, which covers Dumfries and Galloway, comes into force at 9pm for 12 hours.

It has been issued as icy stretches are expected to form overnight leading to difficult driving conditions on untreated roads and slippery conditions on pavements.

The Environment Agency issued its lowest level of warning - flood alerts meaning that flooding is possible - for:

* Rivers Brathay, Rothay and Winster

* Upper River Derwent, Stonethwaite Beck and Derwent Water.

The Environment Agency will continue to monitor the situation and issue fresh information in due course. The agency is also working closely with the owners of Keswick Campsite.