Storm Jude Causes Wimbledon Commuter Chaos

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Man suffers head injuries after tree falls on his car

There was chaos for Wimbledon commuters today as the much-heralded Storm Jude arrived.

Disruption by trees on the line, meant South West Trains - which run key commuter services between Wimbledon and London Waterloo - said there were no trains running on their service before at least 11am.

They said there were at least 33 trees on their lines across their network.

There was also disruption on the Northern Line, District Line and Tramlink.

There were also reports of fallen trees on the road at Wimbledon Parkside and Plough Lane, as well as traffic chaos around Tibbetts Corner.

The London Ambulance Service has been responding to a number of storm-related incidents since 6am this morning.

It included a man in his 70s who was treated for head injuries after a tree fell on his car in SW19.

The picture on the right was a fallen tree in Wimbledon, and below it is a tree casualty in Kingston Road, a tree at Deen City Farm and a shop frontage on Raynes Park High Street.

London Ambulance Deputy Director of Operations Peter McKenna said: "It is proving to be a busy morning for us for storm-related injuries. We would encourage anyone to consider if their journey is entirely necessary.”

TfL urges road users to take extra care, and all road and public transport users are advised to check for the latest updates before travelling with service providers and the Met Office.

And South West Trains have told people not to travel all day if possible. They are warning that a much reduced service will operate.

The Mayor of London's office has set up a web page called London Resilience offering advice on preparing for the storm, and you can also follow its up to the minute advice on Twitter at London_Prepared.

Merton Council also announced some changes to its waste collection service.

The Metropolitan Police Service is reminding Londoners to dial 101 when contacting police when it's not an emergency with expected increases in demand brought about by high winds.

The Met adds that calling 999 when it is not an emergency can reduce can effectiveness at dealing with genuine emergencies.

Three Twitter accounts have also been set up at #stormuk, #ukstorm and #storm13.

October 28, 2013