A CAR showroom window in Leigh was blown as gale force winds which swept the country last night.

However, it was an isolated local major incident as the weather left Bolton and the surrounding area almost untouched.

The strong gusts of wind left a trail of little more than a number of broken aerials and snapped branches off trees.

The shattered showroom window, belonging to Oakland Motor Company on Chapel Street, Leigh, was blown in at about 7.15pm.

Commuters faced rush hour chaos in city centre Manchester this morning with two roads closed while safety experts checked scaffolding and building work.

Cannon Street and Corporation Street were shut close to the Arndale Centre. Police were alerted after debris fell onto a taxi. The driver escaped unhurt.

In Oldham part of Middleton Road was shut this morning after part of the Chadderton sports centre roof blew off. Gusts of up to 80mph were monitored in some places throughout the country yesterday. In the worst incident caused by the storms, a mother and daughter died in a car crash in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, when they swerved to avoid a fallen tree last night. The pair, June Fern, 42, and daughter Shona, 9, from Todmorden, were among five people in total who died in storm related accidents throughout the country.

A spokesman for the London Weather Centre said there would be no repeat today of yesterday's gales. Winds gradually died down overnight.

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