Gale force winds and train cancellations brought London to a halt Monday morning, with many vehicles and private property being damaged across the borough.
A spokesperson for Islington Council said that 130 trees fell in the storm, with council employees working “flat out” to shift the debris over the following days.
At Old Street roundabout, a giant, colourful beach ball made a surprise appearance after it broke free from its fixing on top of a building.
A quick-thinking council employee, Roger Richards, 43, who was driving past at the time, pinned the ball to the centre of the roundabout using his car. It was eventually punctured and removed at around 10am.
The ball, which was 10 metres wide, broke loose due to high winds and rain, and was left rolling around the junction before being disposed of.
Bernard Yu, a 31-year-old manager, said he felt “quite bemused” after seeing the giant beach ball while on his morning run shortly before 7am.
“Cars were bravely trying to navigate around it, but the flow was slow. After a few minutes of the ball tossing between the footpath and the centre of the roundabout, it started to deflate,” said Mr Yu.
Les Cochrane, a website developer, wrote on Twitter on Monday: “Am genuinely sad that the beach ball won’t be at Old Street roundabout in the morning – always used to bring a smile to my face.”
The beach ball was first tethered to the building in April by property business Derwent London to illustrate the reduction in CO2 emissions the nearby development will produce.
A spokeswoman for Derwent London said the company was looking into the matter.
Meanwhile, on Spencer Street, a car was written off after gale force winds caused a tree to snap and fall onto the bonnet.
Michael Foskett, the tree surgeon who was working on the fallen branches, said this case was one of many.
He said: “We’ve been dealing with fallen trees all over the borough and we’re expecting more throughout the morning. We’ve been flat out since 7am.”
On Monday morning, Islington Council urged people to report any fallen trees in public areas, but would not take responsibility for damage on private property.
