London: The most powerful storm in 26 years is heading straight towards Britain, according to the Met Office. Winds of up to 90mph and a deluge of driving rain are expected to hit the Britain South coast on Monday.

The Met Office last night extended a severe weather warning.

According to forecasters this can make Britain face worst weather since the Great Storm of 1987.

The 1987 winds topping 120mph battered the country, damaged building, almost 15 million trees were destroyed and 18 people were killed.

The predicted storm on Monday is expected to bring 30mm of rain in just a few hours and motoring organisations are warning drivers against all but essential travel.

Forecasters say it will be the worst to hit the country in years and has the power to damage houses, bring down trees and cause flooding and power cuts.

The Environment Agency has issued more than 20 flood alerts for north England, the Midlands, the South East and Wales.

The Met Office’s chief forecaster, Steve Willington, said: “This is a developing situation and we’d advise people to stay up to date with our forecasts and warnings.”