A HUGE clear-up operation after the weekend gales has begun in Huddersfield.

Roof tiles, chimneys and fences bore the brunt of the gales which swept the town on Friday, Saturday and last night.

The winds reached 81mph at Salendine Nook.

But weather forecasters say the worst could be over. The winds were expected to ease today and will be followed by two days of sunshine and showers.

Honley Road at Farnley Tyas was blocked for part of last night after a 300-year-old horse chestnut tree crashed down.

Mr Joe Battye, of Farnley Hey, said: "I have lived here 47 years and never seen anything like it.

"It was 50ft tall and it came crashing down across the wall and the road."

Another incident saw a massive tree crashing across Stockwell Vale in Armitage Bridge on Saturday night.

The tree, thought to be about 80ft tall, had blocked the road on Sunday morning and forced drivers to take to the verges and a footpath to navigate the lane.

A shocked onlooker said: "The tree had snapped off like matchwood."

Homes in Slaithwaite, Linthwaite and Scapegoat Hill had to go without power for a few hours yesterday.

Electricity bosses took the decision to cut the area off to make urgent repairs to the network which had been damaged by the gales.

Power went off at about 10.30am and most homes were reconnected by 2pm.

More than 150,000 homes in the North East, Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire supplied by Northern Electric and Yorkshire Electricity had their supplies affected after about 1,000 power lines were severed.

A spokesman for the company said approximately 10,000 customers could have been without power on Sunday night, with the vast majority believed to be in the North East.

The gales, which topped 100mph on the Pennine moors, were also accompanied by fierce rain which has seen rivers swell.

The Environment Agency has put all of West Yorkshire on a floodwatch, with specific flood warnings in place in York around the River Ouse.

Hopes of finding a man who fell into the River Aire during high water levels this weekend are fading, according to police.

Officers were called to Apperley Bridge, Bradford, at midday on Saturday after members of the public saw a man struggling in the water.

Divers and the West Yorkshire Police helicopter were involved in the search but were unable to reach the man.

Fire fighters from Brighouse with specialist training were also deployed.

A police spokesman said rescue efforts were hampered due to the high levels of water flowing along the river following earlier heavy rain.

He added: "The likelihood of the man being found is fading."

The worst-hit area was Cumbria. Residents of flood-ravaged Carlisle were returning to their homes today after heavy rain brought chaos to the region.

Flood waters which had engulfed part of the city had receded by up to three feet overnight, allowing homeowners their first clear view of the devastation.

The weekend's heavy storms led to disruption across the area with emergency services put under strain attempting to rescue stranded locals.

Hospitals cancelled many operations and non-emergency treatment to cope with the volume of people displaced by the floodwater.

Power lines were affected and mobile telephone masts were brought down by the torrential rain, hampering local residents contacting relatives or calling for assistance.

Three people were killed and two were missing after the heavy rains and gales swept through northern England.