Child, 9, taken into police protection after being ‘found beneath Brighton Pier’ in darkness during violent storms

Two arrested on suspicion of neglect as young child found exposed to the elements

A child was found beneath Brighton Pier by volunteers as violent storms battered the country (PA Archive/PA Images)

A nine-year-old has been taken into police protection after being found under Brighton Pier in the middle of the night during violent storms.

The child was reportedly found beneath the structure at 2am on Saturday by Brighton Beach Patrol volunteers while storms battered the seafront.

Two adults have been arrested on suspicion of neglect and remain in custody, Sussex Police said.

The force asked the public not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the incident.

'Danger to life' storm warnings have been put in place by the Met Office after much of the country was hit by severe weather on Friday night.

Mumbles Head on the south coast of Wales has seen the strongest winds so far, clocking up 61mph on Saturday morning, followed by Pembrey Sands in Carmarthenshire at 56mph.

Elsewhere, Langdon Bay in east Kent recorded wind speeds of 53mph, the Met Office said.

Flooded tracks have forced train operators to cancel and delay services in what has been a day of chaos across the network.

The West Coast Mainline is closed due to flooding between Lockerbie and Carlisle and five trains are currently trapped or blocked by debris on the track, with passengers advised not to travel.

Meanwhile fallen trees have caused damage to overhead wires on several routes in London and the southeast, and speed restrictions have also been imposed in many coastal areas with 60mph gusts forecast.

It comes after a major power outage left thousands of passengers stranded nationwide during an "apocalyptic" Friday rush hour.

Train services were still catching up with the backlog today as calls grew for an urgent investigation to ascertain what caused crucial National Grid infrastructure to fail so spectacularly, hitting Newcastle Airport, Ipswich Hospital and traffic lights as well as the trains.

Network Rail has urged passengers to refer to its website for updates on disruption to journey plans as further thunderstorms approach.

Greg Dewhurst, a Met Office meteorologist, said the heavy rain and thunderstorms across England and Scotland would continue for the remainder of the day, with further heavy rain forecast until about mid morning on Sunday.

"For the rest of the day it will stay quite windy across England and Wales, there is a yellow weather warning in place until midnight tonight," he said.

"We're likely to continue to see gusts of 40mph to 50mph, perhaps closer to 60mph nearer to the coast."

The yellow weather warning across almost all of Scotland and northern England will come to an end at midnight, but a yellow warning for rain will remain in force until 10am on Sunday in the Glasgow area.

Conditions are expected to be calmer on Sunday for most, with showers and some patches of sunshine.

PA contributed to this report