A passenger train was derailed in Dorset after a landslide pushed a tree on to the track.

No-one was hurt in the incident, which happened near Gillingham shortly after 1930 GMT on Saturday.

The first carriage of the three-carriage train came off the tracks near Bugley Tunnel. British Transport Police said the train remained upright.

The line is expected to remain closed until Thursday to allow Network Rail to clear and repair the track.

Tonnes of debris

The derailed train was the 1720 GMT South West Trains service from Waterloo to Yeovil Junction.

Officers from British Transport Police, Dorset Police, as well as fire and ambulance crews attended the scene.

Network Rail said 40 tonnes of debris were washed down on to the railway track from the cutting because of the bad weather.

A company spokeswoman said it had almost finished clearing the debris but further work was need to repair 600 concrete sleepers which had been damaged.

A bus replacement service is now operating from Yeovil to Gillingham.

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The wall in the playground of the school was blown over

Tiles were ripped off roofs and a wall was flattened by what residents described as “a mini tornado” which hit Reading early on Saturday.

An 8ft (2.4m) wall behind St Anne’s Primary School in Caversham was blown over but nobody was hurt.

Other residents reported that their garden furniture had been “thrown around” and trees were also blown over.

The Met Office said it “believed” it could have been a tornado but could not confirm that it was.

A spokesman said that for forecasters to confirm it was a tornado it would have needed to see it happening or see a photograph of it.

However very strong winds had been battering the Reading area overnight, it said.

A local resident called Karen said: “I’m sat in a chair looking at [the school] now. It’s all cordoned off at the moment.

The strong winds also lifted tiles of roofs

“A chimney pot must have gone through the roof because the chimney stack is missing and there is a big whole in the roof.”

Paul Denley, who also lives in Caversham, said he was woken up by the noise at about 0400 GMT on Saturday to find an 80ft (24m) tree had fallen over in his garden and the roof on his summerhouse had disappeared.

He said: “I just heard a gust of wind and I got up and had a look out the window but couldn’t really see anything.

“I came out into the conservatory and turned the lights on and saw this huge conifer [lying] across the garden.”

Mr Denley said his garden furniture was scattered across the garden and tiles had come off his and his neighbours’ roofs.

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24hr Graph for 29th November 2009

Average temperature = 6.5°C
Average humidity = 90%
Average dewpoint = 5.0°C
Average barometer = 979.0 mb
Average windspeed = 6.1 mph
Average gustspeed = 13.8 mph
Average direction = 359° ( N )
Rainfall for month = 209.9 mm
Rainfall for year = 1081.7 mm
Rainfall for day = 10.5 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 0.4 mm on day 29 at time 16:27
Maximum temperature = 7.5°C on day 29 at time 12:42
Minimum temperature = 5.6°C on day 29 at time 03:45
Maximum humidity = 93% on day 29 at time 18:13
Minimum humidity = 86% on day 29 at time 23:50
Maximum pressure = 987.6 mb on day 29 at time 23:50
Minimum pressure = 974.4 mb on day 29 at time 12:09
Maximum windspeed = 17.3 mph on day 29 at time 22:31
Maximum gust speed = 35 mph from 360 °( N ) on day 29 at time 17:19
Maximum heat index = 7.5°C on day 29 at time 12:42

Flooding in Plymouth caused problems for drivers

Motorists had to be rescued from their vehicles after torrential rain caused flooding in Devon on Saturday evening.

Firefighters rescued three people from a car trapped in floodwater in Plymouth, and another person from a vehicle in Alston Cross, Ashburton.

Water reached about 4ft (1.21m) high in Station Road, Exton, near Exeter, as firefighters were called to a series of flash floods affecting homes.

More bursts of torrential rain are forecast on Sunday.

One driver had to climb up on to the roof of his van after it became trapped in more than 3ft (0.91m) of floodwater in Venton, Sparkwell.

The basements of four properties in Mutley, near Plymouth, were flooded along with houses in Elburton, near Plymstock, and Ivybridge.

Strong winds brought down an electricity pole in Millbrook in south-east Cornwall on Sunday morning.

The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for South West England on Sunday.

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No Hajj pilgrims were reported to have been among casualties in the flooding

The number of dead in floods following Saudi Arabia’s heaviest rains for years has risen to around 100, officials say.

Dozens are said to be missing and some reports suggest the death toll will rise further in the city of Jeddah.

The authorities say they are providing food and temporary housing for those made homeless and considering how to compensate the worst affected.

But critics accuse them of negligence and say this “disaster” should never have been allowed to happen.

A lawyer has threatened to sue the Jeddah authorities, while thousands of people turned to the social networking site Facebook to vent complaints about inadequate infrastructure on a specially created webpage.

Many of the victims in the Red Sea port city died in their vehicles after the flash floods – either by drowning or in car crashes. Some reportedly were killed when bridges collapsed on top of them.

Heavy rainstorms on Wednesday hampered the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the nearby city of Mecca, but officials said there were no pilgrims among casualties of the flooding.

Apart from Jeddah, flood deaths were reported in Rabigh and Mecca.

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24hr Graph for 28th November 2009

Average temperature = 5.6°C
Average humidity = 89%
Average dewpoint = 4.0°C
Average barometer = 989.3 mb
Average windspeed = 5.5 mph
Average gustspeed = 11.1 mph
Average direction = 247° (WSW)
Rainfall for month = 199.4 mm
Rainfall for year = 1071.2 mm
Rainfall for day = 9.3 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 0.4 mm on day 28 at time 21:07
Maximum temperature = 6.7°C on day 28 at time 13:22
Minimum temperature = 4.5°C on day 28 at time 19:06
Maximum humidity = 93% on day 28 at time 23:50
Minimum humidity = 85% on day 28 at time 08:16
Maximum pressure = 994.6 mb on day 28 at time 00:02
Minimum pressure = 981.3 mb on day 28 at time 23:41
Maximum windspeed = 17.3 mph on day 28 at time 08:46
Maximum gust speed = 31 mph from 360 °( N ) on day 28 at time 08:46
Maximum heat index = 6.7°C on day 28 at time 13:22