A man is in hospital and a car has been crushed by a tree as the great storm of 2013 took its toll on Islington.

Islington Gazette: A tree fell on a car in Spencer Street Pic: Dieter PerryA tree fell on a car in Spencer Street Pic: Dieter Perry (Image: Archant)

Winds of up to 70mph battered the borough throughout the night and this morning, bringing 50 trees down and causing travel chaos and widespread disruption.

At around 6.40am in Wharf Road, Islington, a sign was blown over and fell onto a man in his 20s, badly injuring his leg.

Emergency services rushed him to Royal London Hospital, where he remains.

Meanwhile in Spencer Street, Finsbury, at round 9.10am a tree fell onto a car, crushing the vehicle.

Dieter Perry, who lives nearby and saw the aftermath, said: “It’s a massive tree and it fell over, partly on a fence and partly on this car.

“Workmen are there now cutting it into small chunks, but there is a still large piece on the fence and a huge branch on the car.

“Imagine if someone had been inside it?

“Some people are saying it was an old tree, rotten so to speak, so it fell pretty easily.”

Fire engines were called Ellington Street, in Holloway, at around 7.35am when people saw a tree and a large branch in precarious positions, possibly about to fall. They made them both safe by 9.35am.

And Islington Council has closed three parks – Compton Terrace, in Islington, Woodfall Gardens, in Finsbury Park and Asteys Row Gardens in Canonbury.

Cllr Rakhia Ismail, Islington Council’s executive member for sustainability said: “Our staff have been working hard to keep Islington moving and minimise disruption from the stormy weather. We have had reports of 50 fallen trees, and our tree service has sent out four teams to clear trunks and debris to open roads and clear pavements. Three parks have been closed temporarily.

“Street cleaners have been out as usual and so have recycling and waste collection services. Our contact centre dealt with a larger than usual volume of calls on Monday morning but we do not have any major service interruptions.”

“Thank you to all those residents who have been checking on vulnerable neighbours and also to those who called us to report fallen trees.”

Four gangs of council tree surgeons are roaming the streets clearing the fallen trees this morning

There are currently no trains at all running on London Overground from Highbury and Islington Station.

Any problems can be reported to Contact Islington on 020 7527 2000.”