Roof torn off block of flats on Isle of Dogs by gales

Part of the roof of a block of flats on the Isle of Dogs was torn from its anchorage in the storms that buffeted the South East during the night.

Fire crews were called to the block at 7am today in Wheatsheaf Close off Spindrift Avenue, next to the Millwall Dock, when 20ft of gable was blown loose by the gale-force wind.

It brought down more than a tonne of rubble onto Wheatsheaf Close from the four-storey block, leaving roof joists exposed at one end.

The alarm was raised by a passer-by as debris came crashing down onto the pavement by the dock quayside, but no-one was injured.

The building itself escaped serious damage, but nearby fences were brought down.

Several homes in a block of maisonettes three miles away were flooded by rainwater at Hitchin Square in Bow. An emergency crew from Bow fire-station was called out twice, at midnight and again at 2am, when water seeped through the roof, affecting homes on the third and ground floors.

Some families were without electricity caused by seeping rainwater knocking out supply cables.