Winds and trees cause 'significant damage' to trains

Fallen trees have caused severe disruption to weekend rail services in the East of England.

On Saturday Greater Anglia said "significant damage" to overhead line equipment had led to services being cancelled between Colchester and Ipswich, Manningtree and Harwich Town and on the Stansted Express.

All those lines reopened on Sunday, but Greater Anglia reported further issues on services between Ipswich and Felixstowe and Marks Tey and Sudbury, Suffolk.

On Friday night winds cut power to about 2,500 properties around Bury St Edmunds, when a high-voltage line was damaged. UK Power Network said its engineers were working "as quickly and as safely as possible" to restore power to the area.

Greater Anglia apologised for the inconvenience and advised passengers to "check before they travel for the rest of the weekend".

On Sunday Greater Anglia said the London to Stansted Airport trains were running a "good service".

Minor disruption remained on lines out of London to Norwich and Ipswich and an amended service was also running from London to Cambridge.

Tickets between operators were transferable, with some trains running to reach Norwich or London via the Thameslink line to King's Cross or London St Pancras.

London Northwestern services between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey were also impacted on Sunday morning by a tree blocking the line.

People took to social media to relay their experiences with one man posting about his attempt to get back to Lowestoft, Suffolk after watching Norwich win 3-1 away at Charlton Athletic on Saturday.

After being stuck overnight in Thetford, he managed to get home just after midday on Sunday.

Ipswich fans were also affected after their 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at Portman Road on Friday night.

One supporter posting on X said the station doors were locked and people were left "to fend for ourselves".

"Not one member of staff appeared to try and help people with alternative routes," he said.

Greater Anglia has been approached for comment.

Elliot Buck, 22, a student from Brundall, Norfolk, was trying to get a train with his partner from Colchester on Friday night back to Norwich.

He said the train was initially delayed by about half an hour and was then eventually stationary for two-and-a-half hours.

"It was getting progressively more and more full, we all sat on the floor, we were getting updates every hour from the conductor saying, 'Sorry folks, we'll be in for a long night, we don't have any updates'."

He said there were taxis everywhere "queuing up all the way back to the exit of Colchester train station car park", with people being told it would cost about £300 for a trip to Norwich.

They called his partner's father, who made a three-hour round trip to bring them home.

He thinks that if he had not got a lift back, he would have been stuck there for most of the night.

On the roads, Norfolk Police said London Road, Thetford, near to the A11 was blocked due to fallen tree.

This comes after the A11 in Norwich was closed at about 23:30 BST on Saturday night between the A1075 at Thetford and the A47 at Norwich due to fallen power cables. It has since reopened.

Suffolk Highways said it had received about 130 emergency calls reporting fallen trees and downed cables and its crews had "worked through the night and are continuing their response across Suffolk" on Sunday.

It said the B1062 between Beccles and Bungay had reopened, but Station Road, at Bentley, Main Road, Wolverstone, B1079 Church Road, Otley, Ash Street, Boxford and Foley Road, Aldeburgh, were all closed.

A fallen tree caused issues on the A14 westbound between junction 53 for Ipswich and junction 52 for Claydon at about 00:00 blocking both lanes of the carriageway.

The road was then cleared shortly after, National Highways said.

A man had to be freed from his car after a large tree fell on it in Burnt Mills Road, Pitsea, near Basildon, Essex.

Firefighters were called at about 16:47 BST on Friday and he was left in the care of the ambulance service.

It was not the only car struck by a tree. Pictures shared on Facebook showed another vehicle beneath a large fallen tree in Hobleythick Lane in Westcliff-on-Sea.

Essex Police said it happened at about 16:00 and there were no reports of injuries.

"The road was closed while we worked with partners and other agencies to clear the area," it confirmed.

Essex crews also spent about 90 minutes in The Causeway between Writtle and Edney Common, near Chelmsford, Essex, to clear a tree after being called at 16:49 on Friday.

A large branch across Panfield Lane in Braintree was removed by 18:05 and another tree came down on power lines in Pound Lane in Ugley, near Stansted Airport, shortly after 17:30 and left at 18:19.

In Covington, Cambridgeshire, villagers helped move a fallen tree off Keyston Road.

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