Eight killed and transport chaos as storms lash Britain

 

Last updated at 17:28pm on 18th January 2007 Comments

A tree smashed through Richard Heard's car, killing him

 

Waves dwarf walkers at Dover

 

 

 

Eight people were killed today as savage storms swept across Britain. Many others were injured as gusts of up to 99mph and heavy downpours brought transport chaos and damage to buildings.

Richard Heard, 54, was killed on his way to his work as managing director of Birmingham Airport when a tree branch smashed into his car windscreen on the B4373 near Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

 

Another man, a passenger in a Ford Fiesta, died in Streatley, West Berkshire, shortly after midday.

A Berkshire police spokesman said: "A tree has fallen on to a Ford Fiesta. The front seat passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver is being treated at a local hospital."

A lorry driver died when his vehicle left the road and overturned in high winds on the A629 Skipton western bypass in North Yorkshire.

A second lorry driver died when his lorry was blown over. The accident took place at around 1.40pm on the A55, near the Forte Posthouse hotel in Chester.

It is understood he was thrown from the lorry cab as it slid along the carriageway.

A pensioner was also crushed when a wall collapsed on top of her in Stockport.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "It appears to have fallen on a woman as she was passing the wall.

"She suffered serious injuries in the incident and was pronounced dead at the scene."

A man died after being blown into a metal shutter at an industrial estate in the Strangeways area of Manchester.

Police were called shortly after 2pm to industrial units in North Street, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another man died after possibly being struck by a tree in Cheshire, police said.

The man was declared dead at Leighton Hospital in Crewe today, but further details were unavailable.

A spokesman for Cheshire Constabulary said: "We know that a man was taken to Leighton Hospital, where death was pronounced, but we don't have information on what caused his injuries.

"We believe he was struck by a tree but we don't know where that happened, or the circumstances. "We are trying to get more information."

Elsewhere, one man died and another suffered serious injuries after their car was struck by a fire engine en route to an emergency at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

Stafford castle was closed today after a tree blew over and fell on a woman. She was trapped for about 20 minutes until paramedics and ambulance crews were able to free her.

Also in Staffordshire, three schoolchildren were taken to hospital after part of the roof of their school was blown on to them by high winds.

The teenagers were standing outside the dining hall at Blake Valley Technical College, Hednesford, when they were hit by tiles and a metal flue.

Meanwhile gales caused the closure of the port of Dover, while flights had to be cancelled, trains were cancelled or badly delayed and sections of motorway had to be shut.

There is a strong chance of flooding in the Midlands and Northern England and drivers in the South West were warned to take "the utmost care".

Gusts of 99mph were recorded at Needles Old Battery on the Isle of Wight at 7am. MeteoGroup UK forecasters warned that gusts could hit 80mph on high ground and in coastal areas and up to 70mph across the rest of the UK.

A spokesman for Scottish Power said around 30,000 homes were without electricity in Cheshire and mid and north Wales due to the adverse weather. "We've brought in all our linesmen and they have been put on stand-by until the winds die down and it is safe for them to work," said the spokesman.

Among roads that had to be shut because of the weather were the M1 between junctions 29 and 30 in Derbyshire and the M18 between junctions four and seven northbound and six and seven southbound in Yorkshire.

The coastbound carriageway of the M20 between junctions 11 and 12 in Kent was closed to allow lorries to queue to get into the port of Dover which had to stop operating because of 60mph winds at around 8.30am.

Dover to Calais operators P&O Ferries and SeaFrance were among the companies affected. Ferry services to the Isle of Wight were cancelled.

At Heathrow, the number of hourly flights allowed in and out of the west London airport were limited. This meant that British Airways, the airport's biggest carrier, had to scrap 104 domestic and short-haul flights.

Other Heathrow carriers affected included bmi. Flights that were able to leave were subject to delays of about half an hour.

BA's regional carrier BA Connect had to axe 26 flights in and out Manchester airport because of the bad weather.

Four people killed in bad weather

 

 

Four people have been killed and a number of people injured in severe weather conditions in the North West.

 

 

A 60-year-old woman was crushed to death when a wall collapsed on top of her in Marple, Stockport.

Police said a man died after being blown into a metal shutter in the Strangeways area of Manchester.

A third man was killed on the A55 in Chester when a lorry was blown over in high winds, and a fourth man died repairing a fence in Birkenhead.

Police said the man, who was in his 80s, suffered a heart attack while trying to repair the fence after it was damaged in high winds in Prenton on the Wirral. A spokesman for Cheshire Constabulary said it was unclear whether the man on the A55 had been inside the lorry or the other vehicle.

 

Three women were hurt by flying debris in parts of Greater Manchester.

 

Gales also caused problems on the M6 - two lorries were blown over in Lancashire and another two jackknifed further south in Cheshire.

Police at the scene of the latest lorry accident, near junction 32 at Stubbins, Lancashire, described the weather conditions as "horrendous".

Train services from all Manchester stations were temporarily suspended as Network Rail checked for overhead line damage and debris on the tracks.

Rail passengers were being advised to check services before travelling. The motorway network in Greater Manchester saw a number of sections closed due to strong winds, and the M60 was closed around Barton Bridge near the Trafford Centre.

 

Greater Manchester Police are urging motorists to avoid any unnecessary journeys.

 

All flights from Liverpool John Lennon Airport have been temporarily suspended because of high winds.

Planes are able to take off and land but a spokesman said ground operations - getting passengers and baggage from terminals onto planes - had become too dangerous.

At Manchester Airport, British Airways flights to London Heathrow were cancelled because of the adverse weather conditions.

People working in offices near the site also reported seeing a number of aborted landings by planes "wobbling" in the high winds.

 

Possible cancellations

 

A Manchester Airport spokeswoman said a number of pilots had undertaken "go arounds", which she said was a standard manoeuvre.

Passengers worried about possible cancellations should check with their individual airlines, she added.

A 31-year-old woman suffered head injuries when a piece of metal was blown from a roof on Bridge Street in Manchester city centre.

An 89-year-old woman was injured when a sign blew off the front of a shop in Horwich, Bolton, and another woman was struck by flying glass in Oldham.

Part of the roof from Oldham police station, on Barn Street, was blown off by strong winds. Most of the debris fell into an internal police exercise yard. Greater Manchester Police said no one was injured.

Warrington Street and part of Fleet Street in Ashton Under Lyne were also closed after a roof came off an empty building.

Debris blocked the carriageway and building inspectors were called to the site.

Flood watch alerts were issued by the Environment Agency for areas in Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside. The River Irwell also flooded at Ramsbottom, leaving large parts of Nuttall Park submerged.

 

:o :embarassed:

I've been six floors up today and the building has been swaying (and is one window short of a full compliment too)

And my car tried to hide under a hedge :(