Those who died in one of the worst storms in the nation's history will be remembered on the event's 60th anniversary today.

The exact death toll in the great maelstrom that swept the British Isles will never be known, but more than 2000 lives were lost in one of the worst natural disasters to hit Europe.

In the House of Commons, prime minister Winston Churchill referred to "the unprecedented violence of the sea on the night of January 31 to February 1, 1953".

Stranraer will remember the ferry MV Princess Victoria, one of the first roll-on-roll-off ferries, which left the Wigtownshire port at 7.45am heading for Larne in Northern Ireland with 123 passengers and a crew of 49 on board.

Amid winds of more than 80mph, the order was given to abandon ship, and 133 people drowned.

There will be a gathering at the Princess Victoria memorial at Stranraer's Agnew Park, followed by a service in the Town Kirk.

Councillor Roberta Tuckfield, chairwoman of Wigtown Area Committee, said: "Sixty years after the tragic loss of the MV Princess Victoria, we remember those who died, pay our tributes, and offer heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved.

"We remember the valiant efforts of the crew and their fellow seafarers, who risked and in some cases sacrificed their own lives to save others.

"For those who lost loved ones, whether a partner, a parent, a son or a daughter, the consequences are still all too obvious to this day."

A Court of Inquiry into the sinking, held in March 1953 in Belfast, found the loss of the Princess Victoria was due to her unseaworthy condition.

Elsewhere, storms and resulting flooding claimed the lives of 307 people in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

Some 28 people died in Belgium, but the Netherlands was worst affected with 1836 lives being lost.