25/12/2013 BBC News

Good afternoon. More than 50,000 homes in southern

and eastern England are still without power this morning,

following storms which swept across the country earlier this week. Kent,

Surrey and Sussex are worst affected by the power cuts, which engineers

warn could continue for several days. There are still 102 flood

warnings in place in England and Wales, and 15 in Scotland. Ben

Geoghegan is in Leatherhead. Ben. The river behind me is still flowing

forcefully, it burst its banks yesterday which meant that some

people they have spent Christmas Day clearing up.

For some people in Surrey, Christmas Day began knee deep in water. In

Leatherhead, the river burst its banks, the water. In Leatherhead,

the river burst its banks, the waters Christmas Day should be a day

for relaxing with family and friends. Instead, for some people,

it has been spent clearing up the mess. At this local pub, they were

preparing for a party. Instead, they have been pumping out water from the

seller. Filled up with six feet of water.

We had to shut down. This part of Surrey has suffered a double whammy,

not just floods but power cuts. Across the UK, 50,000 people were

still without electricity this morning. It will be like a 1940s

Christmas, with candles. A shock to the system. You don't

expect it. We have had a lot of rain. It is not good for Christmas

Day. We have been without electricity for 48 hours on and

off. It is very frustrating. Lots of candles and tortures.

In different parts of England, fire fighters broke their strike, because

of the Christmas storms, and helped to evacuate people at risk. It

hasn't been a white Christmas but a wet one, and for some it may turn

out to be a Christmas they will want to forget.

There has been a steady trickle of people down here to watch and

monitor the fast flowing river. The good news is there hasn't been any

rain, so the risk of flooding may begin to disappear. The bad news is

the energy companies say if people had not been reconnected to the

electricity grid today, they are not likely to be reconnected until

tomorrow at the earliest. This morning, Pope Francis began the

Christmas Day messages with a call for humility and peace. The

Archbishop of Canterbury has also given his first Christmas Day

sermon, highlighting what he described as the "injustices" facing

Britain's poor. Our religious affairs correspondent, Robert

Piggott, was watching. Crowds packed Saint Peters Square in

Rome to hear Pope Francis deliver first Christmas day address of his

pontificate. He urged Roman Catholics to pray for peace in the

Middle East where Christian minorities were among those

suffering from the effects of violence and oppression.

TRANSLATION: We asked the Lord to spare the beloveds Syrian people for

their suffering. And to enable the parties end the

conflict, and put an end to all violence and guarantee access to

humanitarian aid. In his first sermon as Archbishop of

Canterbury, Justin Welby told Anglicans to challenge the greed and

selfishness which contributed to poverty in England. Where people are

measured in their work only by what they can produce, what economic

value they have, then Christ is denied and our own humanity is

corrupted. He said no society could be truly

happy while misery and want persisted.

The Queen is celebrating Christmas with members of her family this

morning in Sandringham. Her Christmas Day speech, broadcast at

3pm this afternoon, will look back on royal events of the year,

including the birth of Prince George. Jenny Hill is in

Sandringham. There was a much larger crowd than

usual at Sandringham to greet the Royal Family. Many people wanting to

catch a glimpse of the five-month old Prince George. They were

disappointed. His parents certainly worth here, breaking with royal

tradition, walking hand in hand up the path to the church. Members of

the crowd has said to us the Duchess indicated Prince George is doing

very well and has already opened if you Christmas presents this morning.

The Queen, as always, arrived by car. This year, accompanied by her

granddaughter, Zara. The next news on BBC One is at

3.10pm. Goodbye for now. Good afternoon. At least Christmas

Day is not a stormy one. Unfortunately, some of us are still

dealing with the problems after the storm. This afternoon, we have if

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