Dennis the menace will follow Storm Ciara to bring widespread strong winds to batter Atherstone and district at the weekend, weather experts fear.

Hot on the heels of the devastating effects of Ciara, it will be the turn of Storm Dennis to give local sport a soaking on Saturday afternoon with gale-force gusts in excess of 50mph forecast.

A national Severe Weather Warning is expected to be in place for England and Wales with the potential for heavy downpours anywhere.

A Met Office spokesman said: "Our confidence in the forecast means we have been able to issue warnings well in advance, giving people time to prepare for potential impacts of the storm."

The meteoblue forecast for Atherstone on Saturday shows torrential rain from 3pm through to the evening – with a deluge expected around 9pm.

Actual temperatures will peak at 11C but feel more like just about freezing.

Yesterday afternoon, the tail end of Ciara produced brief blizzard conditions in the area with snow settling within minutes – bringing disruption to motorists.