HIGH winds of up to 70mph brought down power cables in the early hours of yesterday, leaving hundreds of residents without power.

Storms on Saturday night and yesterday morning knocked out supplies at hundreds of homes across the county, and yesterday lunchtime there were still 270 properties without power.

People in Kennington and nearby Bayworth were cut off - some for at least 12 hours.

Southern Electric spokesman Ross Easton said engineers had been working since first light to try to get the power back on as fast as possible.

Fire crews were called to remove a number of trees blown on to roads, including one at Buckland Marsh, near Faringdon.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We received a number of calls about fallen trees but passed some of them on to the police."

Although there was heavy rain on Saturday night, only the River Ray, from Shipton Lee to Islip, was given Flood Watch status by the Environment Agency, which provides residents with an early alert to possible flooding.

Met Office forecaster Nick Ricketts said more rain and wind was forecast for Oxfordshire later today.

He said: "It looks as if Monday night could be quite wet and windy, but not as bad as Saturday night - that was pretty exceptional. It's still very unsettled."