THE Met Office has issued a weather warning for Helensburgh, and large parts of the UK, as strong winds and heavy rain look set to batter large parts of the country at the end of this week.

The yellow 'be aware' warning is in place from noon on Friday, February 8 until 6pm on Saturday, February 9.

Warning of likely delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport, the forecaster said: "A spell of very strong winds is expected to affect large parts of the UK leading to some travel disruption."

In Helensburgh, the Met Office is predicting that strong south-westerly winds, gusting to nearly 50mph, will affect the area from around 8am on Friday, and will persist until Saturday afternoon.

The warning covers all of southern and central Scotland, as well as the whole of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A second yellow warning for heavy rain has been issued for the central, west and southern Highlands, lasting between 9am on Friday and 3pm on Saturday.

The latest Helensburgh forecast says there is likely to be heavy rain in the area from the early hours of Friday, and though the showers should ease slightly in the afternoon, they are expected to turn heavier and more persistent once again on Friday evening, with the significant wet weather lasting through to Saturday afternoon before easing off.

The latest warning comes after heavy snow showers and freezing temperatures caused transport disruption in the area in January.

READ MORE: Snow causes travel disruption around Helensburgh

The prolonged spell of cold weather, when temperatures dipped below zero for seven consecutive days from January 27 until February 2, triggered the automatic release of 'cold weather payments' from the UK government to people eligible for certain benefits in the G82, G83 and G84 postcode areas, as well as in many other parts of Argyll and Bute.

READ MORE: Freezing temperatures trigger 'cold weather payments' in Helensburgh

For the latest weather forecast for Helensburgh, see the Met Office website.