Woman left in coma as northwest Europe battered by high winds

High winds buffeted northwestern Europe on today, leaving one woman in France in a coma after she was hit by an advertising hoarding.
In Britain, a search was under way for an animal protection officer who went missing after rescuing sea birds stranded on rocks near Penzance in southwest England on Sunday.
Rail and ferry services in southern England and Wales were disrupted as wind speeds reached nearly 155 kilometres (100 miles) per hour, while flood warnings were issued in more than 50 areas.
In Germany, storms forced carnival organisers to cancel "Rose Monday" parades in the western cities of Duesseldorf and Mainz and scale back festivities in Cologne, the traditional home of the annual fancy dress celebrations.

In Paris, a woman in her early 20s was left fighting for her life after she was hit by a roadside hoarding that had been dislodged by high winds, police said.
A man was left with a broken leg in the same incident.

France's Atlantic coast was lashed by powerful waves and authorities in resorts such as Biarritz took hasty measures to try to prevent the sea reaching the town.
Electricity was cut to 5,000 homes in northern France.
"The big northwestern swell has reached the Brittany shores and the Gulf of Gascony as expected," the French weather service said in a statement.

The British coastguard was helping in the search for Mike Reid, 54, who was called out to help save around 30 gannets in wind-lashed Cornwall on Sunday but has not been seen since then.