NOW branded a "weather bomb" by the Met Office, Storm Doris has brought down trees across Wiltshire.

The A4 Derry Hill, Calne, is expected to be closed for several hours because of a fallen tree and police are advising drivers to seek alternative routes as Blacklands Road near Calne is closed.

Incidents reported to Wiltshire Police include: 

  • A350 West Ashton to Semington - tree overhanging road at lorry cab height and tree debris in road
  • A3102 Lyneham - large branch hanging across road
  • Stone Lane, Axford, Ramsbury near hump-backed bridge - large tree blocking entire lane
  • Whistley Road, Potterne Large tree hanging into road - tree surgeons working on tree but uncertain which way tree will fall 
  • Tytherington Road, Warminster - bend prior to Mill Lane - tree branches over reaching to road
  • A350 Semley - Mile back from Esso garage - large tree blocking road
  • A303 Amesbury eastbound Stonehenge - road blocked by trailer off lorry * The A303 has now been reopened
  • A30 Compton Chamberlyn - trees in road
  • A338 Winterbourne Gunner - tree on power cables
  • A30 Fovant - tree down
  • Tregoze/Tewkesbury Way, Swindon
  • A338 Britford, Salisbury
  • A345 Manningford - tree down blocking side of road
  • B4192 Liddington - One side of road blocked by tree
  • A4 Derry Hill, Calne - tree down, road closed
  • Blacklands Road, Calne - road blocked by fallen tree
  • Ham Road, Wanborough - cables down
  • B3098 Erlestoke - fallen tree preventing high vehicles passing 

At Burbage, near Marlborough, more than 80 homes are without power. SSE Networks aim to have power restored by 5pm and apologise for any inconvenience.

GWR has warned of rail services being affected by high winds and rain today.

Further afield a woman died after being hit by debris in Wolverhampton, Port of Liverpool has been closed and Coronation Street filming was cancelled.

Amber warnings predicting strong winds and heavy rain are in place for North Wales, the Midlands, the East and the North West and now have been extended to include the London area.

A top wind speed of 94mph was recorded in Capel Curig, North Wales, this morning, the Met Office said.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said officers were "currently still in attendance" at the scene in Wolverhampton, along with the ambulance and fire services.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said they were called to the scene at 11.43am, adding: "On arrival, crews found a woman who had suffered very serious head injuries.

"Sadly, it quickly became apparent that there was nothing that could be done to save her and she was confirmed dead at the scene."

Rebecca Davis, a 40-year-old teacher from Wolverhampton, said the woman - who looked to be aged "between 20 and 30" - appeared to have been hit by something resembling a piece of roof which had fallen off a building nearby.

"I think the wind broke it and caused it to fall. I don't know if it was hit by something else or just the wind did it," she said.

She said that while the woman had been hit "right outside Starbucks", it was unclear if the debris had fallen from the coffee shop or from a nearby building.

"I don't think anyone else was hurt. It was a big piece about the size of a coffee table but I think it just hit her," Mrs Davis said.

The Met Office said gusts of 60mph-70mph were likely to be seen in affected areas, with 70mph-80mph expected on coasts and hills.

They rebranded Doris a "weather bomb" after the system underwent what is called "explosive cyclogenesis".

As Doris hit, Peel Ports in Liverpool announced on Twitter that the city's port had been closed due to "100mph gusts of wind".

The company said: "All operations are stood down for the safety of our employees, contractors and customers of the port."

Network Rail also advised that "Storm Doris has caused significant disruption throughout the country".

With fallen trees, objects caught in overhead wires, heavy rain, flooding and debris on the tracks causing delays across many services, a spokesman said they are "doing all we can to keep the network running".

Flights were also affected, with a Heathrow spokesman warning that the strong winds and poor weather have resulted in around a "10% reduction" in the airport's schedule.