UK weather: Britain hit by 60mph winds and warning of more floods - as man seriously injured as tree falls on him in London

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Jacob Jarvis10 August 2019

Severe winds battered parts of the UK with trees and scaffolding knocked down amid the gales.

The highest winds hit 61mph, while other areas were set to be struck with gusts in the 40s and 50s.

As the winds continued to accelerate, a man suffered life-changing injuries after being hit by a falling tree in south London.

The victim, thought to be in his 50s, was hit by the tree in Streatham Vale shortly after 1pm on Saturday.

Large waves hit the coastline at Porthleven, Britain, August 10, 2019. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
REUTERS

Met Police officers attended the scene, in Greyhound Lane, alongside ambulance and fire service crews.

A Scotland Yard statement said: “Police were called at 13:04hrs on Saturday, 10 August to Greyhound Lane in Streatham Vale following reports of a man injured by a fallen tree.

“Officers attended with LAS and LFB.

“The man, thought to be aged in his 50s, has been taken to hospital."

His injuries were initially thought to be life-threatening but have since been deemed life-changing, though further details have not been released.

In Barnet officers were called to a major scaffolding collapse cause by the gales.

Elsewhere in London, services weren suspended between West Ham and Limehouse when a tree caused damage to the overhead wires.

In the south east, a train used on the Marks Tey to Sudbury line was hit by two trees with the resulting damage meaning the entire branch line will be suspended for the rest of the weekend.

Mumbles Head on the south coast of Wales has seen the strongest winds so far, clocking up 61mph on Saturday morning, followed by Pembrey Sands in Carmarthenshire at 56mph.

Waves smashed into the coast
PA

Elsewhere, Langdon Bay in east Kent recorded wind speeds of 53mph, the Met Office said.

Heavy rain forecast until about mid morning on Sunday throughout the uk and a yellow rain warning will be in force until 10am on Sunday in the Glasgow area.

Across the rest of the country, the weather is expected to be much more settled on Sunday with showers and some patches of sunshine coming through.

Flooding between Penrith and Lockerbie forced operators to suspend services on Saturday afternoon.

Winds battered coastal areas
PA

Network Rail Scotland tweeted images of the rails about a foot under water and said five trains had been trapped between Lockerbie and Carlisle.

Services between Carlisle and Glasgow Central or Edinburgh have since resumed but passengers were warned their train might be delayed or cancelled.

There was also flooding between Blackburn and Clitheroe, causing blockages to the lines on Saturday evening.

Many other routes have also been hit with delays caused by hazards on the lines.s well as train disruption, ferry passengers heading into Dover faced delays of five hours as tug boats battled the weather to guide them into port.

P&O Ferries said adverse weather had disrupted scheduling, and promised to get passengers on the first available vessel once they had checked in.

One passenger reported floating outside Dover for thee-and-a-half hours along with five other ferries waiting for permission to dock.

Stephen Deadman, from Nottingham, told PA: "We should have arrived in Dover 11.15am local time but we got off the boat at 4pm.

"[It was] a quick journey across Channel but we stopped four miles from Dover."

Mr Deadman, who was returning from Europe with his family after a two-week holiday, added: "At one point there were five boats waiting. We were kept informed and it wasn't too rough on board.

"I've no particular problem with the authorities. The wind was very bad and the captains of the ferry and tug boats did a great job in difficult conditions."

Gareth Doodes, a headmaster at a Dover school, filmed the ships trying to get into port from the white cliffs.

He told PA: "It was quite an interesting thing to watch. They were docking the ships and making sure everyone was safe."

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