Hurricane threatens Labour Day beach celebrations

A powerful Hurricane Earl threatened to lash much of America’s East Coast, forcing Labour Day holidaymakers to rethink spending the traditional last week of summer at the beach.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency warned people along the Eastern Seaboard to prepare for possible evacuations and islanders in the Turks and Caicos sheltered in their homes today as the Category 4 hurricane steamed across the Caribbean with winds of 135mph.