Hundreds of people across Norfolk have woken up without electricity this morning following power cuts as a result of high winds.

Gusts of more than 50mph have swept across the county causing power outages in several areas including Scarning, near Dereham, Docking near Burnham Market and Erpingham near Cromer.

In mid-Norfolk, engineers became aware of a large power cut affecting 1321 properties around 5.35am. The outage is understood to be due to a fault with overhead cables.

Initial estimates said power would be restored by 8.30am, by 1pm, electricity has been restored to the majority of customers.

Winds of about 40-45mph are expected throughout the day along with unseasonally high temperatures of 16-18C.

The strong winds, have so far caused few problems for the emergency services, with the exception on one tree which has come down in Sea Palling.

But police are urging people to allow extra time for journeys and to be prepared for there to be debris on the roads.

Elsewhere in the county, Earthsea Short Stay School in Honingham is closed today due to UK power networks carrying out maintenance in the area, which has left the school without power.