Man dies after tree falls on van as Storm Darragh lashes UK

A man has died after a tree fell on his van as Storm Darragh lashed the UK.

Gusts of 93mph have been recorded in some parts of the country while millions of people have been warned to stay indoors, thousands were without power and trains have been cancelled.

A Lancashire Police investigation is under way after the force was called at around 9am on Saturday to the A59 at Longton, near Preston.

The man in his 40s was driving his Citroen van on the dual carriageway when the tree fell on his vehicle.

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His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by a specially trained officer.

Detective Sergeant Matt Davidson, of the serious collision investigation unit, said: “Very sadly this incident has resulted in the death of a man and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.”

The Government’s “risk to life” alert came into effect at 1am on Saturday and was sent to people within the area covered by the Met Office’s rare red warning for wind in parts of Wales and south-west England.

It was the largest use of the warning system yet, with the alert urging residents to avoid driving and to “stay indoors if you can”.

Speaking to Sky News, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds described the storm as a “challenging situation”.

He added: “About three million homes will have had the emergency alert system to their mobile phone. I would just encourage anyone who has had that to follow the advice.”

The Cabinet Office’s emergency alert system sent a message to every compatible mobile phone in the affected areas, containing information about the red warning and guidance on how to stay safe.

Mobile phones made a loud siren-like sound even if they were set on silent, with the sound and vibration lasting for about 10 seconds, although some people claimed they did not receive it.

The Met Office confirmed to the PA news agency that wind gusts of up to 93mph were recorded overnight in Capel Curig in North Wales, with 92mph in Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula.

Wind speeds in other parts of Wales, Northern Ireland and south-west England topped 80mph.

Small businesses near the Bristol Channel in Somerset said tiles had flown off their buildings and they had faced delivery issues.

Eleanor Sedgwick, 23, a front-of-house supervisor at Scarlett’s in Clevedon, said the cafe did not open on Saturday morning because it was “too big of a risk”.

She told the PA news agency: “The years that I’ve worked here, I’ve never had to close because of the weather, apart from when it snowed.”

Ms Sedgwick said four tiles fell off their roof but she felt the business had “got off quite lucky” compared with previous storms.

She added: “We’re very fortunate because we are the first sort of wall (the storm) hit, so it’s scary but I’m glad that everyone’s happy and safe.”

Ben England, 47, manager of the Tiffin cafe on the same beachfront, said: “Last night we put all the (outside) chairs under wraps and tried to make it as secure as possible.

“Some of our deliveries didn’t make it through from Bristol, but I think we should be OK. I cancelled probably 80% of our staff that were coming in today, so it’s literally just the skeleton crew.”

Both Ms Sedgwick and Mr England said they were surprised at the number of customers venturing out.

Cardiff resident Stuart Cox, 64, told the PA news agency that an approximately 50ft mature tree in Cathedral Road in the Welsh capital fell into his next door neighbour’s garden in the early hours of Saturday.

“It broke one window two doors down and destroyed next door’s gate. The only damage to ours was the front wall was forced sideways, making the wall unstable and unable to shut the gate,” the accountant said.

“The council teams moved to us, after clearing other trees, around 5.30am and were all done by 8am. Superb effort.”

Thousands of people in Northern Ireland, England and Wales were left without power.

The Energy Networks Association said 177,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales were without power.

A spokesperson said around 768,000 customers have been reconnected on Saturday, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed.

Northern Ireland Electricity Network said 48,000 customers were without power because of damage caused by the storm.

National Highways said both the Prince of Wales Bridge, M4 and the Severn Bridge, M48, which connect south-west England to Wales were closed because of strong winds.

The Merseyside Premier League derby between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park that was due to kick off at lunchtime was postponed.

The Met Office issued the red weather warning – the most serious type – on Friday for wind, meaning dangerous weather was expected and people were urged to take action to keep themselves and others safe.

The now-expired warning, which has led to the cancellation of events including Christmas attractions, was in place from 3am to 11am on Saturday.

All the Royal Parks are closed, including their cafes, kiosks, park roads and cycleways, meaning Winter Wonderland in London did not open.

Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire said on its website that it would not open on Saturday for safety reasons, while Bristol Zoo was also closed.

A separate amber warning covering a larger part of the west coast of the UK, stretching from southern Scotland to Cornwall, and Northern Ireland was in place from 1am until 9pm.

Flying debris and falling trees could pose a risk to life while large waves and beach material could be thrown onto coastal roads and seafronts.

There could also be damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down, as well as power cuts affecting other services such as mobile phone coverage.

Dublin airport confirmed it had received a number of flights bound for other airports and diverted thanks to the fourth named storm of the season.

Several British Airways flights to and from Heathrow, Paris, the United States and the Netherlands were also cancelled.

Storm Darragh is also expected to bring heavy rain over the weekend, with 38 flood warnings in place in England on Saturday.

The Environment Agency said river flooding is likely in parts of Hereford.

An amber warning for rain was in place in Wales from 3am to 6pm on Saturday with heavy rain likely to lead to disruption to transport and infrastructure.

A yellow warning for rain was in place for Northern Ireland and Wales, both of which were badly affected by flooding during Storm Bert, as well as parts of Scotland from 3pm on Friday until noon on Saturday.

The Met Office said periods of heavy rain in south and mid-Wales through Saturday are likely to see 20-30mm fall in three to six hours.

Totals of 80-90mm are possible by the evening, which is about half a month’s worth of rain in one day, the Met Office said.

The Met Office said 55mm of rain fell in parts of Cumbria since Friday afternoon, while 44mm was seen in south Wales.

National Rail said the storm was likely to affect services across the whole network as it warned people to check their journey in full before travelling as it may mean the last services of the day are cancelled.

Yellow wind warnings will be in place across much of the UK, including London and the South East, on Sunday.