Shepton Mallet should brace itself for a beating by high winds as Storm Eunice blows into town.

A red weather warning has been issued for the county which could see winds of up to 100mph.

Avon and Somerset Police have declared a major incident ahead of the storm and Somerset County County has announced that all schools in the county will be closed and although online learning is being urged where possible, for many pupils it will see half term beginning a day earlier than expected.

Storm Eunice has been declared a major incident by the Avon and Somerset Local Resilience Forum due to the potential for severe disruption.

A red weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for extremely strong winds between 7am and midday on Friday 18 February.

The storm has the potential to cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions along the length of the west coast of Somerset through the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary into Gloucestershire.

The Environment Agency has issued a flood warning for Severn Beach and flood alerts for Porlock Weir, along the Severn between Avonmouth and Sharpness and along the Avon into Bristol. You can check your area's risk of flooding on their website.

There is also a risk of 90mph gusts of wind causing coastal flooding and affecting trees and temporary structures. This could cause disruption to the road and rail network, flights, power and communications systems with a high likelihood that both the M4 Prince of Wales bridge and the M48 Severn Bridge will be closed.

Members of the public are asked to avoid travelling on Friday morning wherever possible and to follow weather and travel bulletins on local radio or check on local media websites

Travel information will also be shared by National Highways, Travel Somerset and Travel West, or you can check with your local public transport provider.

Emergency services, local authorities, National Highways and other voluntary and statutory agencies are on stand-by to put well-rehearsed plans into place.

You can report trees fallen into a major road to National Highways and on local roads to your local authority.

Please call 999 if there is an immediate risk to safety such as a fallen live power cable.