Fallen tree blocks Telford road as storms hit Shropshire

A tree fell in high winds in Oakengates, blocking a main road and causing delays for motorists.

Workmen were called to clear Hadley Road after the large hawthorn tree fall into the road at about 6am blocking it for about four hours.

Chris Ammonds, a spokesman for West Mercia Police, said: "The road was closed on the Oakengates side of the Railway Bridge, with signs on the other side."

Sodden ground and winds of up to 40mph were making trees vulnerable to damage in the region today as the Met Office issued a severe weather warning for Shropshire.

• See also: Delays for Shropshire drivers and train passengers after flooding

Storms arrived last night into the South West, where up to 44,000 homes lost power at one point following damage caused by gusts of up to 90mph.

Prime Minister David Cameron was today chairing a meeting of Cobra, the civil contingencies committee that leads responses to national crises.

Thousands of homes were without power and transport networks were in chaos across the South West

Western Power Distribution said 5,000 properties were still cut off after 39,000 homes had power restored overnight. It said 80mph winds caused "airborne debris" to fly into overhead lines.

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A spokesman for Western Power Distribution said around 200 engineers have been working through the night in the South West to repair damage caused by debris being blown into overhead lines by strong winds.

"Over the last 12 hours or so 44,000 customers in the South West have been off supply at some point but we've managed to restore it to all but 5,000 homes," he said.

"It's an extremely exceptional event. We have new staff being drafted in from nearby to replace our teams this morning. We have a constant approach to this because of the ongoing strong winds."

A forecaster at the Met Office said the winds in the South West are likely to "continue along a similar sort of strength" into today, and people can expect weather in other areas to be "much of the same".

It issued "be prepared" amber warnings for strong winds across southern England and Wales.

• See also: Storms take toll on Shropshire’s Green Man

"The band of rain which is moving across from the South West will continue its journey north-eastwards during the course of the night, with fragmented outbreaks of rain - still pretty heavy - following on behind.

"It will continue to be very windy. We can expect to see gusts of 60mph-70mph quite widely across parts of South Wales, Devon and Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, those sorts of areas.

"But even inland we can see some strong gusts too. Otherwise it's much of the same really," the forecaster said.

Speaking about the winds in the South West, he added: "I would suspect they will probably continue along a similar sort of strength.

"That's part of the reason why the conditions have been so bad at the moment, so no, I don't think we're going to see any easing of the winds really until maybe late Wednesday or for a time through Thursday.

"Until then, some very strong winds to come."

The Environment Agency issued four severe flood warnings, put in place when there is ''danger to life''.

The warnings are in the South West, at West Bay Harbour in Bridport, Lyme Regis Harbour, the south Cornwall coast and Weymouth Seafront at The Esplanade.

There are 67 flood warnings and 213 flood alerts also in place.

First Great Western Trains have issued a severe weather notice warning customers that train services between Exeter St Davids and Penzance are suspended "due to current weather conditions in the Somerset, Devon and Cornwall area".

In a notice on its website, the company said: "Due to deteriorating rail and road conditions across the area we are advising customers not to attempt to travel for the rest of today."

The bad weather continues hours after the Prince of Wales said the "tragedy" on the flood-hit Somerset Levels is that "nothing happened for so long".

Charles made the remarks as he met farmers, flood victims and emergency services personnel affected by the continuing disaster.

He pledged a £50,000 donation to support flood victims, with the Duke of Westminster matching the funding with an additional £50,000.

Charles's comments came amid growing anger over a perceived lack of Government action to help flood-hit areas on the Levels.

Residents have begged the Environment Agency to start dredging, with many complaining they are living in "third world" conditions with "overflowing" septic tanks.

The prince was recorded by ITV News making the comments during a reception of 80 people in the village of Stoke St Gregory.

"There's nothing like a jolly good disaster to get people to start doing something," the prince said. "The tragedy is that nothing happened for so long."

Charles braved heavy winds, flooded roads and rain to attend the 45-minute reception, which was said to provide a "much-needed" boost to the local community.

The Somerset Levels suffered "once in 100 years" flooding in July 2012, but has endured even worse conditions since December.

More than 128,000 acres have been deluged - at a huge cost to local farmers - with around 40 homes under water and 200 more cut off.

After attending the reception in Stoke St Gregory, Charles went to a pontoon at Huish Episcopi to catch a police operated boat which is ferrying residents to the villages of Muchelney and Thorney.

Both villages have been cut off by the floods and are only accessible by boat or 4x4 vehicles.

Local farmer Mike Curtis, whose home was flooded for the second time in a year, escorted Charles to Muchelney, where he was greeted by dozens of residents.

Charles then rode to Mr Curtis's farm on a trailer with a garden bench attached, which had been decorated with flowers.

He sat on the bench in a green weatherproof jacket and black wellington boots as the trailer was pulled through flood waters by a tractor.

His reception in Somerset was in stark contrast to that of Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, who drew criticism for arriving at Northmoor last week in a pair of smart city shoes.

Environment Agency boss Lord Smith has also come under fire from some in the area who believe that river dredging by the agency could have reduced the scale of the flooding.

Mr Curtis, with his wife Jenny and their children, Rebecca, three and Tabitha, one, showed Charles their flood-damaged home and farm.

Speaking after the visit, Mr Curtis said: "He was a complete gentleman. The prince was very understanding and very sympathetic to our needs and was genuinely concerned and interested. His support will make a difference.

"He is very interested in farming and we talked about particular animal welfare issues that we currently face with the flood water."

He also discussed with Charles the issue of dredging the rivers on the Somerset Levels.

"He was understanding the point that the rivers have not been dredged for 20-something years and that if we don't maintain it, it will deteriorate and will only get worse," Mr Curtis added.

Charles's £50,000 donation will come from the Prince's Countryside Fund, of which he is patron.

The Farming Help Partnership, made up of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, Farm Community Network and the Addington Fund, has been allocated £25,000 of the emergency funding.

A further £25,000 has been given to the Somerset Community Foundation, which will provide emergency relief grants to small businesses and those affected by flooding.

The money will pay for emergency repairs, compensation for loss of income, damage to shop stock and increased petrol costs.

David Cameron's official spokesman said the Prime Minister had called the situation of Somerset residents "unacceptable".

"The Prime Minister has said that the situation people very sadly have found themselves in is a desperate one, it's an unacceptable one, and that's why it's so important that we do everything that we can to help them," he said.

Following the prince's visit, Avon and Somerset Police announced more pumps had been deployed to the Levels to help drain water.

There are now 11 pumps installed across the area, with two more held in reserve. The three new pumps have been installed at Fordgate and Moorland.

"This remains the biggest pumping operation the country has ever seen," the force spokesman said.

"Nearly 70 pumps are working round the clock, draining an estimated 1.5 million tonnes of water - equivalent to 600 Olympic swimming pools - off the Levels every day."

Residents have been evacuated from 30 flooded houses in Kingsand, Cornwall, and Tamar Coastguard Rescue Team has helped rescue "a number of people", the coastguard said.

Meanwhile, there have been further reports of flooding in Looe, where people have been advised to stay away from the seafront amid fears of huge waves.

There are also reports that the sea wall collapsed in Dawlish, Devon, where two people had to be rescued having been trapped in a car.

David Colmer, Brixham Coastguard watch manager, said: "As we have severe gale storm force winds, high tides and heavy rain, HM Coastguard is urging people to stay away from the coast.

"In this part of the country, conditions on the sea and along the coast are currently extremely treacherous.

"HM Coastguard's advice is simple: don't take risks by straying too close to cliff edges or breaking waves and please stay out of flood water. But if you do get into difficulty, or spot someone who might be in trouble, call 999 and ask for the coastguard."