One of the borough’s most congested roads was hit by traffic chaos as a tree blocked the street during rush hour on Tuesday.
Commuters on Essex Road were forced to abandon buses and walk home after all vehicles came to a standstill.
The tree fell at around 4.50pm during peak traffic time in Islington and affected several route for over four hours.
Route 38, 56, 73, 341 and 476 are subject to diversion and delays in both directions on Essex Road, N1 due to a fallen tree.
— TfL Bus Alerts (@TfLBusAlerts) October 21, 2014
An onlooker, Mike Taylor witnessed the tree falling whilst walking his daughter home from school.
He said: “It was a loud thud like nothing I’ve heard before, it’s a miracle nobody was heard by the tree falling.”
Another commuter, Ken Allen said: “I’m going to get off and walk the rest of my journey, I can’t see them clearing the road any time soon.”
Some witness shared pictures of the incident on social media.
Best avoid Essex Road, there's a massive tree that's fallen across the road: #londontravelinfo #yourewelcome pic.twitter.com/QqTTKuQKua
— Liz Buckley (@liz_buckley) October 21, 2014
Fallen tree on Islington's Essex Road pic.twitter.com/COXZDzJCKI
— Tom Ough (@tomough) October 21, 2014
Essex road shut. Tree down! #news pic.twitter.com/8rSetXbLa6
— Tom (@tomsdinner) October 21, 2014
This came after a falling tree in Kensington killed a woman earlier that day as gusts reached around 65mph in London.
England has been under a yellow weather warning of wind since Saturday.
The Met Office released a statement saying: “A deep depression is affecting the UK with strong winds in its circulation, and there remains the potential for disruption to travel, especially as heavy showers run through, increasing the gust strength.”
