Britain could be hit by gales approaching 55mph as the remnants of a tropical storm move over the country, experts have warned.

The winds, which are expected to peak on Saturday, will stretch from western Scotland down to southeast England.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said it was unusual to get such a “vigorous low pressure system”.

“This weekend’s quite windy – unseasonably windy actually,” he said.

The unsettled weather is the result of former tropical storm Alex, the Atlantic’s first named storm this year, which killed three people in Cuba at its height.

Scotland will bear the brunt of Alex, with gale force eight winds predicted to cause disruption to ferries.

“It’s bringing in some quite large seas,” Mr Partridge said.

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“There’s actually going to be lots of sunshine around over the next few days. Without the wind it would be really nice, but the wind will take the edge off a little bit.”

Check the forecast for where you are

Nevertheless, the South East could see temperatures of up to 24C (75.2F), while central and southern England will be around 22C (71.6F) or 23C (73.4F).

Winds are expected to die down from Sunday, as the remnants of Storm Alex continue moving north.

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