MOTORISTS have been warned to expect delays in the Westbury area as the A350 Trowbridge Road is currently closed after a lorry hit electricity cables in Haines Road.

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “This is causing delays so please allow extra time for your journey or avoid the area.

“Currently, we don’t know when the road is expected to reopen. Thanks for your patience.”

Police said: “An RTC has occurred on the A350 in Westbury, specifically at West End near the double roundabouts resulting in an electricity pole coming down and live wires being in the road.

“For safety this road has had to be closed until the electricity board arrive to make it safe.

“Due to weight restrictions at Station Road bridge, HGV traffic can only pass through the town via the B3098 Bratton Road, onto Bitham Park back down to the A350 at Lidl, and vice-versa.”

The council’s Highways team have been out during the night removing trees and debris after Storm Ciara swept across Wiltshire and the UK with high winds and rains wreaking havoc.

The council is now working to clear more than 140 fallen trees, branches and other debris.

The Amesbury to Beehive road at Long Hedge is closed after a large tree fell down.

The incidents on Sunday included:

  • Tower Road, Melksham – crew from Corsham removed and made safe an awning which had come loose from a building.
  • Broughton Gifford – crew from BoA moved a fallen tree while returning to station from another incident.
  • Chitterne – two crews from Warminster provided a safety cordon after a tree brought down power cables, stayed on scene until electrical engineers arrived.
  • Trowle – crew from BoA provided a safety cordon after a tree brought down power cables over the main road, stayed on scene until electrical engineers arrived.
  • Victoria Road, Trowbridge – one crew from Trowbridge attended after a tree went through the roof of a house, scene made safe, left with other agencies.
  • Court Street, Trowbridge – aerial ladder platform brought in from Bath to assess canopy which had blown onto roof of building, no action possible, left with other agencies.
  • The A350 and Clay Street near to Shearwater lake, Crockerton – a fallen tree was left balancing on BT phone lines.
  • Derry Hill – crew from Calne attended after power cables brought down by trees, scene made safe, stayed on scene until electrical engineers arrived.
  • Church Street, Calne – chimney stack collapsed, leaving debris on road, crew from Calne attended to make scene safe and aerial ladder platform brought in from Swindon to remove the remainder of the chimney from the building.
  • Hungerford Road, Calne – crew from Calne made safe a trampoline which had ended up on a garage roof.
  • Heddington – crew from Calne attended after tree fell on power lines, made scene safe.

The Wiltshire Council spokesman added: Our Highways team have been out in force today keeping our roads clear during Storm Ciara. So far, they’ve dealt with over 90 fallen trees working with the police, fire service and the electricity network to keep us safe.”

Power cuts were reported across the region on Sunday. More than 2,000 homes were without power in Wiltshire and 260 in neighbouring Somerset.

Scottish and Southern Energy said areas affected included Tidworth, Warminster, Chippenham, Marlborough, Calne, Devizes, Tisbury and Swindon.

Duncan McDonald, from Scottish and Southern Energy, said: "We're hoping to get everyone back on early to late evening but we're not out of the woods yet with the weather.

"But we really are doing our best in very challenging conditions to get these customers' power back on."

Wiltshire Council closed a number of roads and the storm caused difficult driving conditions on the motorways.

Adrian Hampton, from Local Highways, said they had been dealing with "20 reports every half an hour".

"We've still got trees coming down, it is slowing but we're anticipating it going on, with really strong gusts, until about 9pm," he said.

"One major [incident] we're dealing with is the A3421 near Bowood, with the electricity cables down. All the rest are passable with care."

He said there had also been a "spate of trampoline incidents" across the county with many being blown on to roads.

People are being advised to ensure their trampolines are "firmly secured".

Trees down on roads across Wiltshire affected the A4 between Chippenham and Calne, the A350 at Lacock, the B4042 at Cleverton and Duncombe Lane at Colerne.

Paul Gentleman, from Great Western Railway, said there had been "several incidents of trees falling across the line".

"The line between Swindon and Cheltenham was closed partially earlier on today while a tree was cleared there," he said.

"But with the weather like it is at the moment, it's very difficult for crews to work safely clearing the debris and getting lines re-opened again."