HEAVY rain and winds caused havoc across West Devon and East Cornwall last Friday and one person was taken to hospital after a tree fell on his vehicle.
A man suffered from neck injuries after a tree fell on his van at Denham Bridge, Bere Alston at around 7.30am and he was removed from the vehicle on a spinal board by firefighters from Bere Alston and Yelverton.
There were reports of fallen trees across the area and in Whitchurch Road, Horrabridge, a tree had blown across power lines bringing them down across the highway just before 8am.
Tavistock fire officer Tim Smith said fortunately staff from Western Power arrived at the same time as firefighters and the problem was dealt with straightaway and the roadway cleared.
Water flooded roads in East Cornwall including Launceston Road in Callington, where gushing water from the overflowing drains caused traffic chaos and the gardens of three properties to flood.
Kevin Rookley from Callington Fire Station said: 'There was a lot of water — roads were flooded and swamped but luckily there was nothing too disasterous and it all cleared away fairly quickly.'
Extra officers were drafted into Devon County Council's Control Room over the weekend to co-ordinate the countywide response to the adverse weather conditions and outside crews were working around the clock, said a spokesperson.
There were 133 reports of flooding on Friday, North Devon being the worst affected and there were reports of 24 trees down across the county.
Some minor roads were closed as rivers burst their banks and drains fought to cope with the high volumes of water, hampered by the strong wind which had caused debris to block drains and gullies.
A spokesperson for Cornwall County Council said more than 100 calls had been received on Friday from across the county all relating to severe rainfall and covering blocked drains, flooding, trees down and blocking the highway, roads blocked by road traffic collisions, landslips onto the highway, manholes covers lifted and excessive standing surface water on the highway.