Thousands of rail passengers in the UK and Europe have been left stranded because of flooding in a tunnel under the River Thames.

Operators Southeastern and Eurostar have cancelled services to and from London St Pancras after a major leak near Ebbsfleet International station in Kent on Friday.

Southeastern said no services will run between Ebbsfleet and London St Pancras International until around noon while Eurostar has cancelled 17 trains running between London and European capitals including Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.

An estimated 16,000 passengers could be affected by the disruption as many travellers set out on journeys ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations on Sunday.

Travel journalist Simon Calder said “desperate” families trying to get across the Channel had began paying for flights while others had returned home to use their cars in the hope of boarding a ferry.

The flooding was first discovered in the tunnel on Friday night leading to some services being delayed. Officials reportedly made a decision at 4am to prevent trains from running through it.

In a statement, Southeastern said: “There will be a very limited service to and from St Pancras International for the rest of the day because of flooding in a tunnel in the Ebbsfleet International area.

“Flooding has occurred in one of the two railway tunnels near Ebbsfleet, meaning only one tunnel is open. This has reduced the capacity available to run trains.

“Disruption will continue until the end of service today.”

It comes as forecasters warned of potential travel disruption across the UK during the last weekend of the year because of strong winds and snow.

Windy conditions will sweep across the UK on Saturday, according to the Met Office, and meteorologist Alex Burkill said northern areas of Scotland are likely to see “significant snow”, with possibly 10 to 20cm on the highest ground.

In a forecast video, Mr Burkill said “a touch of frost is likely” overnight into Saturday and there is a deep area of low pressure waiting out in the Atlantic that is going to sweep its way across the UK this weekend.

He said: “Towards the far east of Scotland, particularly Shetland, it is going to be a windy picture with frequent showers.”

Some frost is “possible” in the south, particularly towards the east, while “a more widespread harsh frost” is expected in some parts of Scotland.

Temperatures could tumble “as low as minus 8C or minus 9, perhaps a little bit colder than that,” he added.

Some heavy rain is also likely across the west of Northern Ireland on Saturday morning before wet and windy conditions push east and north eastwards.

Mr Burkill added: “As that rain hits the cold air across Scotland, I am expecting some significant snow, particularly over higher ground we could see in excess of 10cm of snow lying and, even to lower levels, some slushy snow is possible. This could cause some problems particularly on the roads.

“Elsewhere it is the rain and the strong winds we need to watch out for.

“Heavy rain across parts of Wales and strong gales likely around southern, south-western coastal parts in particular - so a pretty unsettled day.”

Mr Burkill said: “In the south it is going to be relatively mild with highs of around 11C or 12C but with the wind, the rain and the cloud it will be feeling feel pretty unpleasant at times and colder further north, with temperatures here suppressed into mid-single figures.

“Later on Saturday we are going to see the rain and the snow across Scotland, or at least the worst of it, clearing away towards the north east and also that band of rain further south pushing eastwards across parts of England could still be pretty heavy at times - so watch out for that.”

The fresh warnings come on the heels of a windy few days due to Storm Gerrit.

Hundreds of homes in Scotland were without power as the post-storm clean-up began.

Thousands of properties in Ceredigion were also without power on Thursday after lightning struck supplies in Wales.

A spell of strong and gusty winds is also set to hit London and the south east, the east and south west England along with parts of Wales on Saturday where there is a yellow warning for wind that runs through to New Year’s Eve on Sunday at 3am.

There could be “gusts of 45-50 mph widely” but the strongest winds are “likely near coasts in the west and south, with 65-75 mph in places”, the warning states.