Storm Pia Worcestershire – Rail and road disruption | Worcester News

Trees fell across the county leading to a busy day for Worcestershire Highways teams who had to clear them up and get people on the move again on Thursday, (December 21). 

One of the biggest issues was a tree coming down on the railway line between Worcester and Hereford.

That led to West Midlands Railway (WMR) being forced to terminate services at Worcester, with no services running between Worcester and Hereford. 

Worcester News: FALLEN: A fallen tree at the Bevere Lane junction with Green Lane, Worcester FALLEN: A fallen tree at the Bevere Lane junction with Green Lane, Worcester (Image: Worcestershire Highways)

WMR warned passengers of cancellations and alterations to services, with replacement buses put on for a period. 

That issue followed a tree blocking the railway between Birmingham Snow Hill and Whitlocks End - causing issues for commuters there -  and a fallen tree also caused issues as it blocked the line between Coventry and Nuneaton. 

Storm Pia had resulted in a yellow weather warning being placed on a vast swathe of the UK, including parts of the Midlands. 

Worcester was not covered by the alert but was close to where the alert was in place. 

Throughout the day trees came down in:

  • Suckley Road, Leigh in Worcestershire, is currently blocked due to a fallen tree and power cables
  • Peachfield Road, Malvern, is currently blocked due to a fallen tree
  • Bevere Lane junction with Green Lane, Worcester
  • Hardwicke Close in Worcester
  • A44 Fladbury, Evesham is currently partially blocked due to a fallen tree
  • Spring Lane Playing Fields

Longdon Hill End, Malvern, had to be closed for BT to access overhead structures to restore service.

Meanwhile, nationally, fallen trees caused injury, damage and travel disruption as Storm Pia battered parts of the UK with gusts hitting 115mph.

Worcester News: TREE: Tree down in Hardwicke Close TREE: Tree down in Hardwicke Close (Image: Dan Brothwell)

Storm Pia, which was named by the Danish Met Institute, was gradually moving towards mainland Europe where its impacts are expected to be more severe, the Met Office said.

The winds eased on Thursday afternoon as the yellow weather alert was lifted.

The Met Office said the good news is strong winds were being replaced with a fresh to moderate breeze forecast from Friday. 

It is set to be dry with sunny intervals over the weekend, with temperatures around 11C.

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