A pedestrian died yesterday after being hit by a tree that fell into a road as the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo brought high winds to Britain.

The woman died at the scene in Kensington, west London, London Ambulance Service said.

The London Fire Brigade also attended the incident and was working to remove the tree.

The incident took place as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were meeting the President of Singapore Tony Tan Keng Yam and his wife nearby at the start of their state visit.

The meeting, at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington High Street, was Kate’s first official engagement since it was announced she is expecting her second child.

The stormy conditions also led to three women being injured by a fallen tree at Southwick Recreation Ground in West Sussex just before 10am.

The three, one of them believed to be in a wheelchair, were taken to hospital.

Strong winds brought down trees on railway lines, while more than 100 flights had to be axed at Heathrow airport and driving conditions were particularly bad in Scotland.

Some areas were subjected to gusts of wind up to 65mph, but forecasters predicted that the worst of the weather would be over by today.

In Scotland, where heavy rain led to poor visibility on the A90 south of Aberdeen, the Forth Road Bridge, the A87 Skye Bridge and the A898 Erskine Bridge were closed to high-sided vehicles.

In England, a section of the A1(M) in Cambridgeshire was closed due to an overturned lorry and there was heavy traffic on a number of motorways and A-roads, with Cheshire among the worst-hit counties.