Storm chaos

Emergency services in some parts of the country warned people to stay at home as they battled to deal with the "mess" left by the worst weather to hit the south since the great hurricane of 1987.

Train services, already disrupted by emergency track repairs and speed restrictions, ground to a complete halt across much of southern England and many roads were impassable, delaying hundreds of thousands of commuter journeys.

All trains services serving the South West were cancelled, acres of countryside were flooded and roads blocked by fallen trees.

At Swindon station, commuters were left stranded as Railtrack suspended all services due to the stormy weather. Gales at speeds of up to 90mph brought trees down onto the line between Swindon and London Paddington and sections of the track were flooded, making it impossible for trains to run anywhere.

Across the county roads were blocked by debris and motorists were advised not to venture out unless absolutely necessary. Some trees were reported to have come down across the A419.

Drivers of high sided vehicles were being warned to avoid the M4 at junction 14 and 15, because of high cross winds.

Around Swindon, fallen trees were this morning blocking two lanes of Queens Drive by Whitbourne Avenue, the road outside WH Smith in Greenbridge and the road between South Cerney village and the Spine Road.

The entrance to the County Ground was flooded and a section of the Arkell's Stand was blown off by the winds. Groundsmen reported to work to find roofing lying on the ground.

Hundreds of acres of farmland around Cricklade on both sides of the main Swindon to Cirencester road were also deep in water, as was Swindon's Front Garden.

Elsewhere, the port of Dover was closed due to the severe weather, leaving 6,000 passengers stranded at sea in a sheltered bay off the coast.

On the rails, dozens of services were cancelled including the Heathrow Express, Valley Lines, Thames Trains, Wales & West and First Great Western. South West Trains suspended its service between Waterloo and Reading due to severe flooding. Thameslink services between London and Luton in both directions were also disrupted.

A tornado ripped through Selsey in West Sussex tossing caravans into the air, less than 48 hours after a similar incident in nearby Bognor Regis.

Weather experts said the storms which swept across southern Wales and England overnight were among the worst in recent years. Up to 80mm of rain fell in 24 hours and windspeeds of up to 90mph were reported.