Storms batter Europe hitting power supplies, flights and phones

Storms battered northern Europe Sunday, killing a man, cutting power to more than 150,000 homes and disrupting travel and phone networks.



A man died when a tree fell on him in southwestern Scotland, while a runner in a marathon in northern France was injured when a tree was felled by strong winds during the race.



More than 82,000 homes in Britain, nearly 60,000 in France and at least 10,000 in Germany had power cuts inflicted by the passage of storms Boelo and Austen within 24 hours of each other, authorities in the countries said.



In the Argyll and Bute region of western Scotland, winds of up to 135 kilometres an hour were recorded.



Trees and power cables brought down by the storm blocked roads and rail lines across Scotland and northern England.



Britain's Energy Networks Association said more than 400,000 homes had lost power at some stage during the storms.



Part of the pier at Brighton on the southern England coast, unused since a fire in 2003, blew away in Storm Austen on Friday.



The powerful winds also battered northern France across the Channel as Europe battled its first big autumn storms of the year.



Experts have warned of more extreme weather events because of global warming.