The 90 mph gales that battered much of England over the weekend caused damage and disruption all over Essex.

Train services in the county have been severely disrupted. This morning some trains were delayed for up to an hour and overcrowding was reported on many railway stations in Essex, including Colchester and Braintree.

Frinton was one of many parts of the county to be hit by the gales

There have been 340 high voltage faults in the Eastern Region over the weekend and First Great Eastern Train services have suffered severe delays and disruption.

Electricity companies worked around the clock over the weekend to restore power to much of Essex with around 23,000 homes in Chelmsford, Clacton, Harlow, Harold Wood and Rayleigh affected.

The power firm Twenty Four Seven took the unusual step of calling in engineers from France to help.

Essex's emergency services answered many weather-related calls.

A number of schools were also closed due to the effects of the storms.

More reports and pictures in today's Evening Echo and Evening Gazette newspapers

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Published Monday October 28, 2002