HIGH winds and rain continue to batter Swindon and wreak havoc on the roads – and the Met Office predicts there will be no let up just yet.

One driver had a lucky escape when his van rolled and crashed into two other vehicles on the A419 southbound near the Blunsdon sliproad during a hailstorm shortly after 2pm yesterday.

Elsewhere in the town high winds tore down a large tree in Edison Road in Liden at around 3pm, blocking traffic from flowing around the Dorcan Industrial Estate.

The van driver was initially thought to have sustained injuries during the incident but was checked by paramedics at the scene, as drivers were diverted off the dual carriageway at Blunsdon.

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “We attended the scene where a van had flipped up on to the embankment and it was causing some delays as we closed the road for around an hour.

“The van hit the central reservation, came back across the carriageway and overturned. Two more cars were involved in the collision but no-one was seriously injured.”

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A spokesman from the South West Ambulance Service said: “We were called out at 2.08pm to a report that a van had rolled. It was reported that a male of approximately 30 years of age was the patient. But when crews arrived, we sent an ambulance and a rapid response team, the male was out of the vehicle and didn’t want to go to hospital.

“Paramedics attended to him at the scene.”

Over in Liden, employees from nearby units on the estate, including Tyco, Garden of Eden, Raven Roofing Supplies and tree surgeons from Swindon Commercial Services, joined together to help move the tree out of Edison Road.

Jason Kurzeja, security supervisor at Tyco, said: “We received a report of a tree that had fallen into the road. I thought it would be just a stick so I went to the road to remove it. It was only then that I realised it was a whole tree and I called my colleague to come along and remove it.

“We immediately started to divert the traffic and I called the headquarters to call the police and Swindon Council.”

Disruption for Swindon rail commuters continued and may run on until the end of the week as flooding at Maidenhead caused havoc with access in and out of London.

Met office stations at Lyneham and Fairford gathered wind speeds of up to 56 miles an hour before 1pm yesterday.

Despite a yellow warning for wind remaining in place until 7am for the Swindon area, the remainder of today looks more settled, bright and breezy with a few showers. Temperatures will drop further and there is a risk of wet snow, sleet or hail on higher grounds.

High winds and rain are expected to return tomorrow, with the five-day forecast suggesting there may even be heavy snow from midnight, sleet at around 3am and more heavy snow at 6am as temperatures drop to three degrees.