GALE-FORCE winds are causing chaos on the capital's roads and forcing the delay and cancellation of many rail services.

Heavy rain and gusts of up to 80 miles per hour battered much of England today.

The London Fire Brigade has received up to 1,000 calls since 12.30pm and is currently attending more than 100 separate incidents across the capital.

"The volume of calls being received is up to four times higher than at normal times. Calls related to the weather conditions are mainly for fallen trees and wind damage to roofs," a spokesman said.

The Met Office said today's winds were the strongest since the Burns' Day storm on January 25, 1990.

Gusts of 77 miles per hour were recorded at Heathrow Airport - the highest in 17 years.

The Needles, on the Isle of Wight, has recorded the highest wind speed at 99 miles per hour, but this has yet to be verified.

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National Rail this morning ordered high-speed trains on some lines to slow down because of the dangerous conditions. London Bridge station has been closed and will remain so after part of the roof structure was damaged by gale-force winds blowing at 70-80mph.

This follows an incident at around 3pm to 3.30pm this afternoon when some glass panels in the roof were dislodged and fell on to the concourse.

Commuters can leave trains at London Bridge, but there is no access to the station for passengers wanting to join services.

Passengers are being asked to travel to Charing Cross or Canon Street stations instead and those with tickets can use London Underground to reach these destinations.

Underground services from London Bridge are running as normal.

Reduced rail services

  • All west coast Virgin train services between London Euston and Glasgow Central have been suspended due to overhead wire damage.
  • First Capital Connect has told passengers not to travel due to severe disruption on all of the train firm's routes.

The station at New Cross Gate has been closed due to damage to the station roof and all lines are blocked at Oakleigh Park and at New Barnet due to a tree on the line.

  • GNER also told its passengers to delay their travel plans. All services between York and Kings Cross have been suspended.
  • Silverlink has suspended all services between London Euston and Northampton.
  • First Great Western ishas advised passengers not to travel unless "absolutely necessary".
  • Southeastern Trains is also having problems getting enough trains into central London terminals to cover the peak-time rush.

Another Southeastern train crashed into a fallen tree at 2.03pm today near Sole Street station in Chatham on the 13.08 Faversham to London Victoria service.

A Tube train hit a tree on the tracks in high wind this morning in Hillingdon.

The train was travelling east on the Piccadilly line when it hit a tree at about 8.30am. Police and ambulance crews were called, but there were no reports of any injuries.

Dartford Crossing closed

The Dartford Crossing was closed at 8am due to the severe winds and Kent-bound traffic is currently being directed through the Dartford Tunnel.

An accident between junction five and six of the M20 London-bound carriageway also caused delays.

Roads around Epping are also badly affected with a tree blocking Stonards Hill, and Abridge Road, Theydon Bois, being partially blocked because of a fallen tree near the Coopersale Lane junction.

An accident on the northbound M11 near the Harlow junction brought traffic to a standstill.

Roads around Harlow have also been affected, and some blocked, by falling trees.

Flights delayed and cancelled

  • Heathrow: There are cancellations and delays to flights in and out of Heathrow. The majority of the disruption is to domestic and short-haul flights.
  • Gatwick: On the whole the airport is operating a normal service.
  • Stansted: On the whole the airport is operating a normal service. However there have been a few diversions and cancellations.

Passengers are urged to check with their airline before departing for the airport and to allow extra time for their journey. Stansted Express's services have been suspended and there are some delays on the M11 and M25 motorways.

Freak accident

In Kenton, winds up-rooted a tree causing it to topple onto a rubbish truck and a man on his way to work.

Mrs Jyoti Inamdar, 49, witnessed the freak: "Rizwan is 42 and is a builder for us, he lives in South Harrow and was walking along the street on his way into work when the wind up-rooted the tree and made it fall.

"It was very lucky that a rubbish lorry was coming around the corner at the same time because otherwise Rizwan would be dead.

"The tree smashed into the lorry and the branches came down on his head and on his hands as he fell to the ground. Even the men in the truck are lucky to be alive."

Cold snap to follow

The winds were expected to ease this evening as the storm moves away from the UK.

A cold-snap is forecast for the weekend, with a maximum of 8C and 6C expected on Sunday and Monday respectively.

Additional reporting by Alex Ali, Alison White, David Jackman and Rachel Sharp