Thousands of householders will be without electricity until tomorrow after the tail end of Hurricane Gordon lashed parts of the UK, bringing down power lines.

One of the worst affected areas was Northern Ireland, where the wind batterned the province for many hours at speeds of up to 74mph. Roads were blocked by fallen trees and tens of thousands of homes were without electricity.

Northern Ireland Electricity said supplies to over 100,000 customers were hit. Staff worked through the night and managed to restore power to 50,000 homes but a spokesman said he would not be surprised if it was Saturday before everyone was back on.

The worst affected areas were Mid Ulster, Craigavon and Newry, with parts of south Belfast also hit.

The South West of England was also battered by winds reaching more than 80mph. An Atlantic storm fuelled by the end of Hurricane Gordon hit the region, bringing down trees and tearing some boats from their moorings.

At Dawlish in south Devon, the main Penzance to London Waterloo railway line was hit when ballast under one of the two tracks - which run just feet from the coastline - was eroded by the sea.

The stretch of track is notoriously vulnerable as waves crash over the sea wall in bad weather, and in the past landslides from nearby cliffs have also halted services.

Some train services to and from the capital today were starting and finishing at St David’s station in Exeter.

Although the remaining track was being used, there would be delays, said Network Rail, adding it was hoped repairs would be completed by this evening.

The overnight storm also cut off power to around 1,000 homes in Truro, Cornwall, although it was restored to most within hours.

In Devon, a tree crashed on to a campervan in Yeoford, near Crediton, but no-one was hurt.

The highest gust last night was 81mph in the South West as the storm system was boosted by energy from what was left of Hurricane Gordon.

The south-south-westerly storm tracked across Northern Ireland and South West Scotland earlier and moved on through other parts of Britain leadring to heavy rain in some areas. The weekend is expected to be much calmer and drier, with above average temperatures.

The next hurricane moving across the Atlantic is Helene, which this morning was centered about 560 miles (900 kilometers) east of Bermuda. Forecasters say the remains of Helene could cause more wind and heavy rain across the west of Ireland by early next week.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. September is traditionally one of the busiest months of the season.

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