A herd of cows escape from a farmers field in Dovea, County Tipperary, Ireland, as Storm Ellen batters the country this morning (August 20).
The animals dashed towards the road as the rain and strong winds struck.

''Luckily we spotted them before they had gone too far and got them back safe and sound,'' said the neighbour, who has a herd of 'Kilsunny' pedigree cows.

The region suffered fallen trees and power lines which lead to electricity blackouts after strong winds of up to 66mph and heavy rain struck throughout the night.

Warnings came into effect on Thursday morning after the storm hit Ireland, with large swells predicted.

The Met Office said: ''Storm Ellen is currently bringing some unseasonably windy weather across the west with Wales having seen the strongest winds so far.

''Exposed southern coasts of the Republic of Ireland have also seen gusts of 89 mph at Roches Point earlier on.''

They said that Storm Ellen had developed from a "decayed tropical cyclone" and forecast it would sweep across Ireland before hitting the UK's west coast.