Strong winds and torrential rain has battered Suffolk and Essex today, bringing trees down onto cars and causing road closures.
Over the course of rush hour this afternoon, Suffolk police were called to nearly a dozen fallen trees which were either fully or partially blocking major roads such as the A12 and A14.
The most disruptive incident was when a large oak tree came down on the A12 by Bredfield, temporarily blocking both lanes and causing traffic to back up beyond Woodbridge.
The congestion lasted for some hours as debris took a long time to clear and traffic was unable to get through freely until the end of rush hour.
Trees were also felled in Ixworth Road heading into Thurston, Bradfield St George, the B1079 by Otley, the A143 by Chedburgh, the A134 at Shimpling, Ipswich Road in Woodbridge, the A14 at Trimley, Burwell Road in Exning and the A12 between Stratford st Mary and Dedham.
Some vehicles were hit by trees – a van was caught under a tree in Woodbridge and a classic car was struck by a tree on the A134 near Leavenheath.
Some of the incidents took out nearby phone cables and poles which caused road closures.
Suffolk Highways were called out to clear the roads and officers remained at scenes while traffic remained in the areas.
There were not thought to have been any casualties as a result of the accidents, despite some damage to vehicles.
Up to 30mm of rain fell across Suffolk during the day, with the coastal region hit particularly hard.
There was a threat of further congestion in Ipswich over the afternoon as high winds were predicted to be at their worst between 2pm and 7pm, so Highways England officers remained on standby to monitor the Orwell Bridge.
A risk of closure was touch and go for several hours as gusts were blowing marginally in favour of keeping it open, however could have easily turned the other direction.
Fortunately, the winds did not breach the safety threshold of 50mph so the bridge was able to stay open throughout the afternoon.
Motorists were warned to stay alert as driving conditions remained poor and conditions are set to remain damp and drizzly tomorrow.
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