Storm chaos

More than 40,000 homes are without power today after the South was battered by high winds and torrential rain.

As forecasters predicted more to come, workmen were struggling to restore supplies to homes in five counties. Winds of up to 50mph swept across the region and at one point 107,000 homes were without electricity.

The winds brought trees and power lines crashing to the ground throughout Kent, Hertfordshire and Surrey, blocking roads and cutting power. Commuters faced delays and disruption as fallen trees blocked railway tracks, holding up services into Victoria and lines in Kent. Emergency workers were fighting in appalling conditions to clear lines.

Roads across the South-East were brought to a near standstill as the torrential rain made driving conditions-hazardous. The summer storms hit the South-East and London yesterday afternoon, with power companies receiving the first reports of blackouts last night.

By 10pm, 13,000 homes in Kent, 6,500 in Sussex and 1,000 in Surrey were without power, with thousands of homes in East Anglia and the surrounding counties still waiting for electricity to be restored today. A spokesman for EDF Energy said: "We are working flat out to try to restore power but inevitably there will be many people without electricity this morning.

"We cannot predict when all supplies will be restored as the weather front is still moving through our area."

A tree at Fawkham junction in Kent hit Southern services out of Victoria last night while a tree also blocked the Woking-Guildford line, affecting passengers using South West Trains from Waterloo.

The 17.05 Waterloo to Paris Eurostar service had to turn back to London after a tree fell onto the line in Kent. Passengers were delayed for about an hour as Network Rail cleared the tree off the track.

Thameslink and South Eastern services also experienced delays.

A spokesman said: "We had emergency teams out with treecutting equipment and pumps in an effort to keep the lines open. There were short but regrettable delays to services."

On the roads, the three-lane northbound carriageway of the M11 in Essex was blocked between 1.30 and 4pm after a lorry shed its load in the high winds.

The A412 in Watford was also closed by a fallen tree, as was the A13 at the Tarpots roundabout at Benfleet, Essex. A tree also blocked the A212 near Croydon and caused the Tramlink service to be suspended.

Motorists were forced to negotiate parts of fallen trees on many other minor roads throughout the South-East, according to the AA.

Tube passengers were delayed after the Metropolitan line was blocked by a fallen tree at Rickmansworth. The District line was also blocked by a fallen tree on the line between Gunnersbury and Richmond, while the Bakerloo line was closed from Queen's Park northwards. Normal services on all lines were restored by this morning's rush-hour.

Elsewhere, ferry company P&O had to cancel its fast-ferry Portsmouth-Cherbourg and Portsmouth-Caen services because of rough seas while its Dover-Calais operations suffered delays.

Two people had to be rescued when their 14ft dinghy capsized in strong winds close to Chichester Harbour in West Sussex, while two men had to be rescued from their 30ft boat after it foundered in heavy seas.

The high winds also forced Kew Gardens to close amid fears that falling branches could injure visitors. Kew's site at Wakehurst Place in West Sussex was also shut due to the bad weather.

Hampton Court flower show had to be abandoned yesterday but organisers expect to reopen it today.

About 7,000 people had booked to see English National Opera's production of Puccini's La Bohème in Trafalgar Square, which had been specially covered with Astroturf.

Only 2000 die-hards, many of whom had to wait in the rain for over 90 minutes, managed to pack into the Coliseum theatre where the production was finally hastily restaged.

Another day of heavy rain and strong winds is forecast, with the South-East set to be hit once again.

Gareth Harvey, of the PA Weathercentre, said: "It looks like there's going to be more of the same today, unfortunately. By the afternoon we will see more heavy rain moving in to south-east England, with thunderstorms and strong winds, particularly in south Wales and the South-West."

Winds could again reach a strength of 60mph in coastal areas across the South-West and North-East. Parts of Yorkshire and the South-East could see an inch of rain, with temperatures dropping as low as 14C (57.2F).

"It may not be until Saturday that we get some sunnier spells," said Mr Harvey.