Builder killed after tree falls on van in south London

A workman was killed and two colleagues injured when a tree crashed into their van in high winds in London yesterday.

The Ford Transit driver was pronounced dead at the scene and two others rushed to hospital after the large tree demolished their truck on a road at Clapham Common.

One of the men is believed to have survived only because he leaned back in his seat moments before the tree fell.

The Evening Standard reported the men were thought to be builders.

Ambulance crews took a 47-year-old man to hospital with neck injuries and a 20-year-old man who was suffering back and shoulder injuries.

The freak accident occurred at Clapham Common at 2pm as high winds battered a line of large trees.

A BMW was also crushed in the accident but its driver was not seriously injured.