A HOUSEHOLDER whose chimney fell off his roof in yesterday's gales was stunned when he was told by his insurer: "You can't claim because the wind wasn't strong enough."

Jason Ryalls was woken up at 5.30am by a loud bang and opened his front door to see masonry had fallen on a car outside.

He said he phoned Legal & General – only to be told it would only pay out if winds were "storm force" – above 45mph – and it said yesterday's gales had not reached that figure.

The firm changed its mind only after the Derby Telegraph – alerted by an amazed Mr Ryalls – called to query the decision.

A company spokeswoman said the high-tech system it used to measure the weather had previously shown winds in the morning were not strong enough for a claim.

But she said: "We've looked at it again and the records have been updated to show the winds were higher."

Mr Ryalls, 35, said: "They've said they might be prepared to pay it and have apologised."

The district manager for KFC restaurants, who lives in the terraced house with girlfriend Chelsea Anderson and their four-year-old daughter, Teikia, added: "What they said was absolutely ridiculous – I haven't seen winds this strong for many years."

The Met Office said winds in the East Midlands early yesterday morning, when the chimney fell from Mr Ryalls' home in Slack Lane, Derby, were "gale force", gusting at up to 54mph.

The Legal & General spokeswoman said: "We now need to go out and make sure the property is in good condition before making a decision on whether it is a valid claim."

Yesterday's high winds and heavy rain caused disruption throughout the day, with falling trees delaying motorists on roads including the A38 at Burton and the A608 at Heanor.

In Church Street, Church Gresley, a tree smashed into a car and in Repton Road, Hartshorne, branches damaged phone lines.

Firefighters wearing waterproof suits had to give a van driver a piggyback after his vehicle became engulfed at a ford near Ashbourne.

And wind and rain caused power cuts at 1,000 homes in places such as Melbourne, Woodville, Morley and Belper. Western Power said these homes all had power restored by yesterday afternoon.

Dean Gazzard, station manager at Derbyshire fire service's headquarters, said the van rescue had happened at a ford across Henmore Brook, in Green Lane, Hangingbridge.

The driver misjudged the depth of the rising waters, becoming stuck at 8.45am.

Mr Gazzard said: "Police got there first and informed us. The driver had gone into the ford. But there was about a 2ft of fast flowing water.

"It picked the van up and span it around so that it hit the bank."

He said the driver felt "uncomfortable" about getting out and was given a piggy back by firefighters wearing waterproof suits. Mr Gazzard said: "I don't think there was much damage to the van, perhaps just a bit of damage to the driver's pride."

A county council spokeswoman said more than 40 of its workers had been out since the early hours of yesterday clearing trees from about 30 roads.

The A608 Church Street/Mansfield Road, Heanor, was shut because of a fallen tree, with drivers diverted along Hands Road

Other blockages included Robin Hood Road and Longway Bank, Whatstandwell; Coton Road, Walton-on-Trent; Ash Lane, Etwall; and the A517 at Hulland Ward.

A spokesman for traffic information company Traffic Link said drivers faced delays of up to 45 minutes on the A38 with a tree blocking the northbound carriageway at Burton for about four hours.

The Environment Agency issued flood alerts for parts of the River Trent, River Dove and River Derwent in Derbyshire, but said that river levels were receding last night.

Helen Chivers, Met Office forecaster, said "calmer weather" was expected today.