Storm Franklin: Travel not advised as storm hits East of England

Trees are falling again as Storm Franklin has hit the UK, including this one in Chappel, Essex

Rail passengers across the East of England have been advised not to travel as Storm Franklin hits the UK.

Thameslink and Great Northern are urging people to "avoid travelling where you can" as "lines in some areas may have to close".

Greater Anglia and C2C are running reduced services due to storm damage and say only travel if it is "absolutely essential".

Network Rail has imposed a 50mph speed restriction across the network.

Due to a fallen tree damaging overhead wires between Shenfield and Chelmsford all lines have been disrupted with trains running through these stations possibly cancelled or terminated, said Greater Anglia.

A tree narrowly avoided a bungalow in Great Barton, Suffolk

Thameslink and Great Northern, part of Govia Thameslink which runs trains from London to Bedford and Cambridge, said a tree blocking the railway between Tulse Hill and Streatham in south London caused a train to derail.

As a result services between St Albans and Sutton and also Cambridge and Three Bridges are suspended until further notice.

There is flooding on the road outside the entrance to Nowton Park, near Bury St Edmunds

Services between London Blackfriars and Bedford will call at all stations between London St Pancras and Bedford, and services between King's Lynn and London Kings Cross will only run between King's Lynn and Cambridge.

On its website, it said to "avoid travelling where you can on routes north of London".

"Staff are expecting disruption to services, and lines in some areas may have to close. Delays should be expected across all routes," the operator said.

"If you do travel, check your journey before you set off, and think about how you might be able to get home if lines do have to close because of the high winds."

'Only travel if absolutely essential'

Passengers on trains delayed between stations are being "rescued as soon as possible" but still may not be able to complete their journeys.

Greater Anglia, which runs trains from London Liverpool Street to Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertford, said it would be running "a very reduced service which could be disrupted at short notice" and advised passengers on Monday morning to "only travel if their journey is absolutely essential".

"If trees come down or debris lands in the overhead wires then journeys could be disrupted severely for many hours," it said.

It added that all lines were blocked between Colchester and Manningtree due to a fallen tree damaging the overhead electric wires.

More trees have fallen overnight, including in St Albans

Thousands of people are still without power following Storm Eunice on Friday.

UK Power Networks said it was working hard to restore supplies and would make payments to anyone affected by power cuts for more than 24 hours.

It says there are currently 2,900 properties across the East of England without power, including 1,000 in Essex, 1,300 in Suffolk and 370 in Norfolk.

It has been a busy few days, with clean up continuing over the weekend after storm Eunice

Patrick Chandler, who lives in Newton Green near Sudbury, in Suffolk said his electricity had been off since lunchtime on Sunday.

His disabled wife, who has used a wheelchair for 25 years, was now bed-bound after breaking her ankle a fortnight ago.

Mr Chandler said they had had no sleep because she uses an air-assisted mattress, which is currently flat because it needs electricity to keep it pumped up.

"It's causing great discomfort," he said, "and because of the way she's been laying, I haven't been able to get any food into her, not that we've had any hot food, because when they phoned me up to tell me it was going off, I was in the middle of cooking lunch."

The BBC understands that UK Power Networks has since provided the Chandlers with a generator.

Crews are working to clear trees from roads and power lines across the region

There are two flood warnings in the region and about 20 flood alerts, the Environment Agency said.

The warnings are for Bumpstead Brook through Steeple Bumpstead to New England in Essex, where river levels were rising yesterday.

The agency said flooding of homes and businesses was also likely for Bawdsey Quay and Felixstowe Ferry in Suffolk between 13:00 and 17:00, while strong winds and spring tides may cause large waves and spray overtopping on the coast.

The coastguard has warned photographers not to put themselves in danger and "take unnecessary risks" to try and capture an image of storm conditions.

Updates on travel across the East of England is available on-air and on BBC Sounds from your local BBC Radio station.