Fallen trees and road closures brought Canvey to a standstill yesterday.

Canvey Way, the main route on and off the island, was closed at 6.30am in both directions yesterday morning after a lorry overturned in heavy winds.

The road was closed between the A13, at Sadlers Farm Interchange, and the B1013, at Waterside Farm roundabout.

Drivers were warned to still expect long delays throughout the morning on Canvey and through Benfleet on the B1025 High Road.

Emergency services were also called to Long Road, after a driver crashed into a fallen tree.

The road was closed between Convent Road and Kitkatts at roughly 7.45am after the tree pulled down power cables.

A driver crashed into the tree shortly after it fell, but was not in need of medical attention.

The damage wasn’t just confined to roads. Saks Bar, in Furtherwick Road, was left without a canopy after winds ripped it away from the restaurant.

The trail of devastation on Canvey left islanders worried about how emergency services would cope in a major disaster.

Canvey Independent Party councillor, Dave Blackwell, said: “It really did wreak havoc on the island.

“If there was a major incident on the island this morning, you do wonder how, and if, emergency services would be able to get on to the island.

“And this is what people have been saying for a long time, we have no emergency plan. The emergency plan for Canvey if there is a major incident is just stay inside, but what if you are already out and you’re sitting in standstill traffic?

“The worst-case scenario, and we are all stuck on the island.

“How many times does Canvey have to be gridlocked before something is done?

“We keep harping on about this third road, but it needs to come from above, we need our MP and the people in power to make these decisions.

“It could not be more clear that we need this third road, but we have all known that for a long time.”

An emergency service road exists linking Canvey Way and Canvey Road, cutting across Canvey West Marshes.

Mr Blackwell believes this needs to be opened in situations like yesterday to relieve the pressure on the islands roads.

He said: “I don’t understand why plans aren’t in place to opening the emergency road.

“Look at this morning, if that road had been opened it would have been cut in half. It is a perfect road, that sits there completely unused, and many people do not even know it is there. The people of Canvey are sitting there in standstill traffic for hours on end but there is a perfectly unused road.”