Strong winds and heavy rain continued to batter the Westcountry in the early hours of yesterday, bringing down several trees and damaging power lines.

The Met Office said gusts of more than 55mph were recorded in Devon and Cornwall, causing disruption on the roads and leaving some homes without power.

The gales left 400 homes in the Budock Water area, near Falmouth, Cornwall, without electricity yesterday morning and Western Power was also called out to deal with bowing cables in Falmouth and Germoe, near Helston.

Power lines also blocked a bus route after they were brought down between Little Comfort and Treburley.

The A388 was blocked by a tree half way between Callington and Launceston, and in South East Cornwall, Trelawney Road was closed in Menheniot with a fallen tree.

Penwarne Road, near Mawnan Smith, was blocked by a tree and highways officers also had to deal with fallen trees at Duporth Road in Charlestown and on the B3292 at Penryn. Meanwhile, a sandbank whipped up by the strong winds from a beach closed a road in Widemouth Bay, near Bude.

A spokesman from Cornwall Council said: "We received 26 calls highlighting incidents around the county, mainly about fallen trees, but also about debris on the road and a dangerous sign."

Firefighters from Cullompton in Devon were called to a house at Barns Close in Bradninch in the early hours of yesterday after a metal shed blew away, becoming wedged between a fence and lamp-post.

Somerset Council said it had six recorded incidents of fallen trees, including one that was "resting" on a power line at Smith's Lane, Fivehead, near Taunton. The council said BT had been informed.

Efforts were yesterday being made to return a weather buoy which blew ashore in North Devon after tearing from its mooring off the south west of Ireland. Belonging to the Irish Marine Institute, it broke free during severe weather on December 10 and nothing was heard from it until it started transmitting on January 2 from Woolacombe Beach.

Meanwhile Environment Agency flood alerts remain in place for a number of rivers including the River Tavy at Tavistock and most of the River Tamar.