30 years since the Great Storm of 1987

Trees uprooted and power lines down

30 years ago today local residents woke to a trail of destruction left by the high winds and rain during the night.

The great storm of 1987, famously not forecast by BBC weather presenter Michael Fish, left thousands of homes and workplaces without electricity, and kept council workers and emergency services fully occupied all night and beyond.

Heavy rain and gusts of wind up to 100 mph uprooted trees, and blew tiles off roofs throughout the county.

Phone lines were down across the county. Reading Fire Brigade took more than 1000 calls during the night, and Berkshire County Council called on all its resources to cope with the 1,700 miles of road throughout the county which had been damaged by the storm.

Our picture shows the branch of a tree leaning over power lines at Ashmore Green on the morning after the storm.