Woman with baby injured as Storm Eunice topples trees in Bedfordshire

A tree fell on a woman and baby as strong winds from Storm Eunice battered the region.

The woman was airlifted to hospital with what were described as serious injuries, but the baby was uninjured in the incident in Bedford.

The tree at the junction of The Embankment and Bushmead Avenue in the town fell just after 2pm, and an ambulance, air ambulance and fire crew were called to the scene.

The woman, who had been walking with the baby in a pushchair, was taken to Bedford Hospital South Wing with serious injuries to her lower leg and pelvis.

A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance said: "We were called to the junction on The Embankment and Bushmead Avenue in Bedford just after 2pm today following reports that a tree had fallen on a woman and a baby.

"An ambulance, three vehicles from Hazardous Area Response Team, an operations manager and a response car from the Magpas Air Ambulance attended the scene."

Winds in Bedford on Friday have reached speeds of 68mph and caused disruption across the whole region.

Elsewhere in Bedford, a tree crashed into the number 9 bus as it travelled down Elstow Road from Shortstown to Bedford.

Nobody was injured but Stagecoach has suspended all services across its network.

Eyewitness Chris Hepworth said: "We were travelling back from Milton Keynes and it was the worst we’d seen. We saw a few small trees and fences down, but when we came to Elstow Road there was a clear roadblock with three or four police vehicles and a police cordon. It was a very large tree for them to clear."