Fallen trees disrupt travel amid wind warning

A two-lane road with a hedge on one side and a green mesh fence on the other. A large tree has fallen through the green fence and is blocking the road.Image source, Emily Coady-Stemp/BBC
Image caption,

A fallen tree blocked Woodbridge Road in Guildford, Surrey

  • Published

Travel has been disrupted across the South East of England after high winds caused several trees to fall.

Fallen trees blocked roads in Surrey on Monday morning, while some ferry services from the Port of Dover were delayed.

A yellow Met Office warning for wind is in place for most of England and Wales until 18:00 BST.

Strong and gusty winds are likely to cause some disruption to travel and interruptions to power, the weather service said.

P&O Ferries said strong winds meant its services between Dover and Calais had delays of approximately 45 minutes.

DFDS cancelled its 12:50 service from Calais to Dover and its service leaving Dover for Calais at 14:25.

Meanwhile, Woodbridge Road in Guildford was closed after a tree on the grounds of Guildford Cricket Club fell on to the carriageway, narrowly missing a parked car.

A tree that has fallen through and broken a green fence, and is lying across a pavement. A grey SUV is parked very close to the tree trunk.Image source, Geraint Davies
Image caption,

The tree narrowly missed Geraint Davies's car

After the near miss, Geraint Davies, who owns the vehicle, told BBC Radio Surrey: "It might be time to buy a lottery ticket."

He added: "It's a very busy road, so I imagine they would prioritise [clearing] it. But if there's lots of other trees down, I'm sure they'll be quite busy this morning."

Woodbridge Road reopened at about 11:30.

Elsewhere in Surrey, the A287 Churt Road was closed in both directions between Kitts Lane to Whitmoor Vale Road due to a fallen tree.

There were also reports of fallen trees in East Sussex – in Hove, Hailsham, near Maynard's Green, and near Friston Ponds.

There were also non-weather related traffic delays on the M25 in Kent, due to a tipper hitting a bridge, and on the M20, due to a bridge defect being found during roadworks.

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