Oxfordshire was in chaos today as damage wreaked by a night of heavy storms brought the county to a virtual standstill.

Ten schools were closed, houses and a factory in Didcot were flooded after torrential rain, and police were warning people not to travel unless they had to.

Rail services across the county were at a standstill, with lines in and out of Oxford blocked by fallen trees, adding to the existing delays imposed by speeds limits after the Hatfield rail crash.

The main problem was a fallen 150ft tree which blocked all four of the main and slow lines at Tilehurst, near Reading, on the London-Paddington line. Both First Great Western and Thames Trains suspended all services on the line, which runs through Oxford, and Railtrack Great Western spokesman Jane Terry said it was unlikely rail services would run normally for several hours.

Dangerous conditions on the A416 at Clifton Hampden today

Drivers and engineers from both companies were out in Thames Trains units clearing debris from the track with axes, chainsaws and ropes. Flood warnings were also issued on rivers including the Ock, Thame and Evenlode.

The fire service was at full stretch this morning dealing with calls to floods, fallen trees and other emergencies.

In Didcot, a drainage stream Moor Ditch overflowed on the Southmead Industrial Estate leaving Exel Timbalex under three inches of water.

Firefighters were called out again after a house in Sutherland Beck on the new Ladygrove housing estate was flooded.

Crews were also called out to flooding in Hook Norton, Banbury, Bicester, Abingdon, Cumnor and Farmoor.

Power lines were affected, with cuts in the Witney area today. On Saturday nearly 1,000 homes suffered power cuts. The Cottesmore Road area of Oxford was among the worst hit.

County council work teams were using chainsaws to clear fallen trees, heavy branches and debris on roads across west Oxfordshire, including the A44 between Chipping Norton and Moreton-in-Marsh and the A415 at Cokethorpe.

At Marcham, a willow tree from the garden of June Busby fell across the road at around 6am. Farmer William Cumber, of Manor Farm in Mill Road, brought six of his workers to clear the tree.

Schools closed by power cuts were Shiplake, Bampton, Langford St Christopher, Marcham, Longworth, Lewknor, and Nettlebed primaries, Lawn Upton Middle School in Oxford, Warriner School, Banbury, and Mabel Prichard special school at Littlemore.

Meanwhile a shop in Grimsby collapsed and the side of a house caved in after their roofs were blown off in the storms. And an Italian cargo ship carrying chemicals sent out distress signals today off the coast of France as gale-force winds lashed the Atlantic coast.