Weather: Strong winds cause trees to block roads in Wales

Image caption, A tree blocked this road in Dinas Powys in the Vale of Glamorgan before it was moved on Sunday

Several major roads are blocked by fallen trees in parts of Wales as driving rain and strong winds continue to cause problems.

The Met Office issued a "be prepared" warning for the whole of Wales, with a risk of localised flooding and winds exceeding 50-60mph.

Between 40mm and 60mm of rain is forecast for east Wales.

Fallen trees are reported to have blocked roads in Powys, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and the Vale of Glamorgan.

The M48 Severn Bridge was also closed in both directions to high sided vehicles on Sunday morning due to strong winds.

Roads reported to have been blocked because of fallen trees include:

  • The A470 southbound at Llangurig in Powys between the A44 (Llangurig) and St Harmon Road (Rhayader)
  • The A470 Ffrwd Road in both directions at Merthyr Tydfil near the A465 Heads Of The Valleys Road
  • The A470 southbound between A4060 (Pentrebach roundabout) and A4059/A472 (Abercynon roundabout)
  • The A48 in both directions at Penhow, Newport, due to fallen tree at Pike Road near the Rock and Fountain Inn
  • The A48 eastbound at Bonvilston, Vale of Glamorgan
  • The A4054 Pendwyallt Road in Whitchurch, Cardiff, in both directions

Drivers are also being warned to take care on the M4 because of fallen trees, with one lane blocked eastbound near Bridgend.

Firefighters in south, mid and west Wales say they have been busy this morning dealing with minor weather-related calls.

Image caption, Roof debris from flats caused problems at Wildmill in Bridgend

They say there are concerns about strong winds blowing down shop signs and causing damage to roofs in Swansea, Port Talbot, Ammanford and parts of south-east Wales.

At Wildmill in Bridgend, roof debris from a block of flats blew down into the street.

Resident Rob Parry said: "The roof is from a block of flats and the fire service have cleared the road, but the roof is just on the side now.

"Some of the debris hit a car, but thankfully it wasn't damaged."

Bron-y-Deri residents in Mountain Ash, in the Cynon Valley, have been told they may have to evacuate their homes after a tree fell onto a conservatory.

Image caption, A tree fell onto a conservatory in Mountain Ash

Resident Steven Bull said there were concerns about the stability of other trees in the road.

"Our house is next to a slope where there's six or seven trees, and one of the trees fell on the back of another house, on their conservatory, and smashed the fence," he said.

"There's seven firefighters there at the moment.

"There was a loud crash. I thought some of my fencing had come off.

"They want to evacuate some of the houses around the area because they think some of the other trees aren't safe."

There were no flood alerts or warnings in place in Wales by 11:00 BST.