Crane topples in high winds in London with weather warnings in place across Britain

10 December 2019, 20:39

A crane has toppled over at a building site as gale-force winds, ice and rain sweep across the UK.

The tower crane partially collapsed at the old Antoinette Hotel site in Kingston upon Thames, south west London, on Tuesday evening as Storm Atiyah battered Britain.

Ice and rain are also set to deluge the UK overnight, with weather warnings in place for the northern half of the nation.

There were no injuries after the crane was blown down near to Kingston University’s Penrhyn Road campus around 4pm on Tuesday.

A Police spokesman said: “Police were called shortly after 16:00hrs on Tuesday, 10 December to reports of a partially collapsed crane on a building site on Fassett Road in Kingston.

“Emergency services on the scene. At this early stage, there are no reported injuries.

“A number of local residents have been evacuated as a precaution.”

Yellow weather warnings were in place for strong winds in northern England and Scotland until 5pm on Tuesday, and for heavy rain in the north west until 8pm.

Wind speeds are expected to reach 70mph across coastal and high-ground areas north of Wales.

Icy patches and wintry showers may lead to some travel disruption in Scotland, where a weather warning is in place throughout the night until 10am on Wednesday.

Five flood warnings for some coastal areas in the South West and North East of England have also been issued by the Environment Agency.

Craig Snell, a Met Office Meteorologist, said the cold and blustery weather in the rest of the UK is "business as usual for this time of year".

He said: "We have yellow warnings for rain and strong winds across the northern half of the UK, with strong showers affecting western areas.

"There's likely to be sleet and snow across the mountains in Scotland and a chance of ice on the roads.

"Elsewhere, it's a cold night, but we're not expecting any problems with cold or ice."

Mr Snell said the rain is due to ease by midday on Wednesday, when it will be dry and bright across much of the UK.

He said: "Despite the sunshine, it will be feeling fairly chilly out there."

South-easterly areas will see the highest temperatures of up to 9C on Wednesday while temperatures of between 4C to 7C are expected for the rest of the country.