A man struck by a falling tree during this-morning’s gales is being treated at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

The 26-year-old was injured while walking through Clapton Common in Hackney at 6.50am, during the height of the storm at 6.40am.

An ambulance crew and a responder unit from Whitechapel were at the scene within minutes after the alarm was raised by passers-by dialling 999.

The man was conscious with neck and head injury and was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken by ambulance to hospital.

He was one of three people taken to hospital by the London Ambulance Service who were struck by falling trees, the other two in west London.

A man in his 50s was injured when a tree crashed down onto a van in Ealing. A motorcyclist aged 29 was hit by a tree at Hammersmith, causing chest and foot injuries.

“People on motorbikes or bicycles are particularly vulnerable in high cross winds,” said Ambulance Service deputy operations director Peter McKenna. “It was a busy morning for us for injuries related to the storm.”

Paramedics and responders have been on duty outdoors using motorbikes to reach incidents quickly, instead working from ambulance stations. Crews have been facing difficult driving conditions in ambulances to reach patients.