Nearly blown onto his Beachy Head! Moment TalkTV journalist is nearly swept off his feet by Storm Isha – as reporters across the country brave 100mph tempest
This is the moment a TalkTV journalist was almost blown away while reporting on Storm Isha.
TalkTV’s Nick Ellerby and his cameraman struggled to stay upright as they covered Isha’s dangerous 100mph gales and heavy rain from Beachy Head in East Sussex.
From the studio, Julia Hartley-Brewer joked that it looked like “you’re both drunk” as gusts of wind battered reporters.
Elsewhere, Sky News’ Dan Whitehead was also seen trying to battle the wind and rain in Porthcawl, Wales – while BBC Breakfast’s Sharon Barbour braved the powerful gusts in Blackpool.
Mr Ellerby said: ‘Here at Beachy Head in East Sussex I am struggling to keep on my feet.’
Mrs Hartley-Brewer replied: ‘You’re desperately swaying, trying to stay upright in the incredible wind. Beautiful scenes behind you, but you are unnecessarily close to the edge of the cliff, you and the cameraman. If I turn the sound off, it’ll look like you’re both drunk.”
Mr Ellerby then said: ‘Let’s save that for the weekend! We’re about five or ten yards from the edge. This is basically as close as we can get without endangering ourselves.”
How have you been affected by the storm? Email emily.davies@mailonline.co.uk
One video shows Nick Ellerby from TalkTV in East Sussex as both he and the camera filming him shake dramatically as they are buffeted by the wind.
Speaking to TalkTv, Nick Ellerby said: ‘Here in Beachy Head in East Sussex I’m struggling to keep on my feet’
But Ms Hartley-Brewer expressed her concern for the reporter, as she said: ‘You’re desperately wiggling and trying to stay upright in the incredible wind’
At the end of the clip, Ms Hartley-Brewer joked: ‘I don’t know if you insulted management by being sent there.’
Images of Mr Whitehead in Porthcawl showed him how to report from the shore. He said: “This is the start of an Amber alert that we’ve been hearing about all day. You can probably see the wins increasing here on the south coast of Wales. Behind me the waves have been crashing over the breakwater all afternoon.’
To which the presenter replied: ‘It’s obviously extremely windy because you’re a big man and you have trouble with that. Pay attention to your safety.’
Meanwhile, speaking to BBC Breakfast, Ms Barbour appeared winded as she said: ‘The wind is still very strong and the waves are still very rough.’
But those who posted online about their concerns for the journalists’ welfare, with user X writing: ‘Totally irresponsible reporting.’ Another added: “I bet the camera crew is furious.”
One user said: ‘Why are you deploying crews here?’ and another added: ‘Why do they always stand by the sea telling everyone how windy it is?’
A concerned member of the public said: ‘So people have been warned to stay at home, somehow you have to send someone out to say it’s windy? Not necessary.’
Thousands of people were left without power as Isha disrupted the UK’s electricity and transport networks – and many may not do so again until Tuesday afternoon.
Fallen trees have affected transportation. Traffic Scotland reports that parts of the M9 and M74 were closed all night, while the A1 southbound at Thorntonloch was closed due to an overturned lorry.
Sharon Barbour braved the gusty winds in Blackpool for BBC Breakfast
Meanwhile, for BBC Breakfast, Ms Barbour appeared winded as she said: ‘The wind is still very strong and the waves are still very rough’
In Appleby, terrifying sirens blared through the Cumbrian city as floodwaters rushed through the streets.
High winds forced the closure of the Tay Road Bridge, M48 Severn Bridge and the A66 in Durham and Cumbria between the A1(M) and the M6, while the Humber Bridge, A19 Tees Flyover and A628 Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire were among those closed. . vehicles with high sides.
In Scotland, Network Rail has canceled all passenger and freight trains across the country after a ‘difficult night’ until they can inspect railway lines and repair damage from the storm.
Footage of Dan Whitehead in Porthcawl showed him reporting from the coast
But those who posted online about their concerns for the journalists’ welfare, with one user on X writing: ‘Totally irresponsible reporting’
A fallen tree in Southborough Lane Bickley, Bromley, South East London
Workmen attempting to clear a fallen tree blocking the A833
Flights were severely disrupted and diverted, with one flight taking just 11 hours to return to where it started
Water at Dochart Falls in Killin, Stirling, after Storm Isha blew through the area overnight
Huge queues stretched at the station and around the block in Glasgow as passengers carrying large bags looked for the first train to leave the Scottish city.
Thousands of people are without power. ESB Networks reported that more than 170,000 properties in Ireland were without power, while Electricity North West said crews had been withdrawn due to the conditions which saw almost 8,000 homes lose power.
The company said expected restoration times had been pushed back to 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said hundreds of extra staff had been deployed and incident centers opened after around 45,000 customers were left without power, many overnight.
Rishi Sunak said the government is working hard with authorities to restore power to homes without electricity.
Speaking at the National Film and Television School, the Prime Minister said: ‘The first thing I want to say is that my thoughts are with all those who have been affected by the storm over the last day or so. My thanks also go to all the care providers who have worked incredibly hard to support people.
‘I would urge people to simply continue to monitor the travel advice to ensure they are doing everything they can to keep them and their families safe.
“And on the power side, the progress we have made is that power has been restored to almost 300,000 properties.
“Clearly there are still some where that is not the case, but I would like to reassure everyone that we are working as hard as we can together with the relevant authorities to restore power to those people as quickly as possible.”
And farmers say their crops have been devastated by the bad weather as their fields are flooded.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today, Peter Gade of the National Farmers’ Union said: ‘The whole field should look like winter wheat growing, as you can see at the top of the field. But at the bottom of the field we are expertly overwhelmed by floodwaters from the original Storm Babet, and that never went away all winter.
“I would say that of all my grains, my wheat and barley in the ground, probably about 40 percent of them are damaged and degraded. Or completely written off, which are uninsurable losses for which we don’t know what we can get back in the spring.
‘Of course there is a shortage of seed throughout the country. We’re really in trouble and it’s spread all over the east side of the country as far as I can see.”