Storm Ophelia batters Ireland: Three killed as trees fall on two cars and man dies in chainsaw accident

Three people have been killed as hurricane-force winds from Storm Ophelia continue to batter Ireland and head towards the UK.

A woman in her 50s died after a tree fell on her car in West Waterford, while her passenger - a woman in her 70s - was injured.

A man in his 30s died in a chainsaw accident in Cahir, Co Tipperary, after trying to remove a tree downed by the storm and the male driver of a car died when a tree fell on the vehicle in Dundalk, Co Louth, police said.

Gusts of up to 92mph have already hit the south west coast and forecasters warned that worse is yet to come. Ophelia has put Ireland on lockdown and left more than 120,000 homes without power, as parts of the UK brace for hurricane-force winds and the Met Office warns of a potential "danger to life".

Remnants of the hurricane - that was downgraded after making its way across the Atlantic - battered Britain's west coast on Monday afternoon, with gusts of up to 80mph, exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people.

Fears about the impact of strong winds have seen troops placed on standby and many public services in Ireland and Northern Ireland closed with schools, government buildings and courts among the services affected.