With snow and sleet beginning to fall across the county this evening, Wirral residents are being warned to be prepared for severe weather tomorrow.

The Met Office has issued an amber warning of wind for an area including Merseyside, Lancashire and Cheshire West and Chester.

The warning is in place from 10am tomorrow, Wednesday, until just before midnight.

A yellow warning had been in place but has been upgraded to amber, which means the weather conditions are expected to have a bigger impact and are more likely to happen.

Western England, Wales and northern England are expected to bear the brunt of the weather, with gusts of 60mph to 70mph, and 80mph to 90mph gusts in exposed parts.

Large waves are expected to affect coastal areas.

Gale force winds created a surge that left a swathe of destruction across the borough's coastal towns on December 5.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: “The public should be prepared for the risk of disruption to transport and possibly power supplies.”

The amber warning comes after a yellow warning of snow was issued for the region this afternoon, with the Met Office warning showers could turn to snow later today and could last throughout the night.