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| A car is engulfed by sea water at Salcoats, Scotland, in November. Unexpected high winds over the weekend battered Scotland again, causing travel disruption. |
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Falling trees kill motorists as 25,000 Scottish homes are left without power amid 114mph gusts
Two people have been killed by falling trees and at least 25,000 properties left without power after unexpected gales battered northern England and Scotland.
Local people described the gusts, which reached 114mph in Scotland, as fiercer than they had ever experienced.
An unusually strong pattern of low pressure moved in from the Atlantic and hooked up across Northern Ireland and northern England into Scotland, catching trees in new leaf at their most vulnerable and causing widespread transport disruption.
An 18-year-old woman from Hexham was killed after a tree crushed her car at nearby Corbridge, said Northumbria police.
A 36-year-old man in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, was killed after his car was crushed by a falling tree. Firefighters struggled to release him from the wreckage for several hours but he was pronounced dead before they could get him out.
Falling trees also halted train services on the west coast mainline between England and Scotland near Gretna Green as well as those on the edge of Belfast. Ferry services were cancelled between Northern Ireland and Stranraer and Cairnryan, in Scotland, and there were delays on the M62, M6 and M66 in the Pennines.
Three children were taken to hospital in Kent after an inflatable slide toppled over at a garden fete. Coastguards had to rescue the crew on board three yachts racing of the North Yorkshire coast between Whitby and Scarborough.
Scotland's transport minister, Keith Brown, said the country had been battered by very unusual weather for June. He said: "It's exceptional and that's created problems on the roads and the rail network, and for the ferries as well.
"What's made this worse is the very high wind speed and real problems with trees which are fully leaved and so more likely to be uprooted. It's particularly hard for the railways as their staff have inspect the lines before allowing travel, making sure there's no debris on the track, and that's been difficult.
"One way they normally do that is by helicopter, which, in itself, has presented some problems, but a lot of work has gone on and most of the lines have now reopened."
Scottish Hydro Electric said around 20,000 customers in Scotland were without power after engineers worked overnight to reconnect a further 10,000.
Scottish Power said: "Just under 5,000 customers are off supply today, which is down from a peak of 20,000 yesterday. The worst-affected area is Fife, followed by the central belt and Stirlingshire."
Strong winds are continuing in Scotland and much of northern England but are expected to ease off. Victoria Kettley, a forecaster at MeteoGroup, said: "Winds will pick up for a while, with gusts across Scotland of up to 60mph which won't help efforts to clear trees. It was really bad yesterday but that depression has cleared north. Winds will still be brisk though and northern England can expect some will see some strong gusts of up to 50mph, before things ease in the afternoon."
Michael Dukes, also of MeteoGroup, said: "The high winds that have been battering Scotland, Ireland and the north of England today are about as strong as you ever get in late May. With trees in full leaf, winds of this strength can cause a lot of problems as the trees can be more readily toppled."
GUARDIAN
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