Deaths and damage as Storm Eunice causes havoc

Three people have been killed on roads in the UK as the storm hit. Several other people have been injured by falling trees and flying debris, while another man has died in the Republic of Ireland

High winds are expected to remain until 21:00 GMT across the majority of the UK. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and trains suspended, but services will resume on Saturday in Wales

About 200,000 homes are without power supply across the UK, according to Environment Secretary George Eustice. Homes and popular buildings, such as London’s O2 Arena, have been damaged by severe winds

Saturday is forecast to see a mostly dry and bright start, with sunny spells in the south and east but rain will spread across Northern Ireland and parts of England and Wales, with snow on hills.

Two Lorries were blown over on the M4 westbound between J37 at Pyle and J38 at Groes, south Wales.

The roof of a house in Newport was also blown off, buildings damaged, trees uprooted and there has been localised flooding after 92mph (148km/h) gusts were recorded off the Welsh coast.

A very rare red warning for wind expired at 12:00 GMT, but as we’ve been reporting, an amber warning remains in place across the whole of Wales until 21:00.

A family in East Sussex has lost their car to Storm Eunice – and it was all captured on their home CCTV. The pictures show a large tree on the pavement outside their driveway in Seaford, near Eastbourne, toppling on to the car.

The tree smashed the windshield and the bonnet. No-one was hurt.

Bethany Monro, whose dad David owns the car, says she was “shocked and couldn’t believe it”.

A team of tree surgeons had to be brought in to cut up the tree and remove it.

The family has been in touch with their insurance company.

An ambulance rushing a baby girl to hospital in Aberdeenshire has been rescued by members of the public after becoming stuck in heavy snow.

Ten-month-old Jessica Louise Macleod, who spent the first six months of her life in hospital with a congenital heart defect, became ill today after developing breathing difficulties.

At the time, heavy snow from Storm Eunice was causing massive disruption to roads in the area and the ambulance became stuck in snow as it raced to hospital in Aberdeen.

Jessica Louise’s mum, Melissa, 32, was amazed at how the public jumped immediately to help.

“There were vehicles not moving out of the way for the ambulance, so a lorry driver got out his vehicle and started walking down the road in the snow to tell people to move,” she says.

“The ambulance had to drive on the untreated part of the road, where it became stuck. Literally within seconds there were people pushing the ambulance to free it.”

Work is being carried out to make roads clear and safe in the area of north London where a woman was killed when a tree fell on a car.

The woman, aged in her 30s, was a passenger and died at the scene this afternoon on Muswell Hill Road.

Councilor Peray Ahmet, leader of Haringey council, says she is “deeply saddened” by the news and offers her condolences to her family.

“Our teams are working tirelessly to clear fallen trees and debris and to secure any structures that pose a risk to the public,” she adds.

“I urge all residents to follow official advice and be alert to the dangers that come with the extreme weather that continues to affect the borough.”

Transport for Wales (TfW) services will resume on Saturday after all trains across the country were suspended on Friday due to the storm.

But customers are being urged to check the latest information because damage will not be fully known until early in the morning, the company says.

Services will therefore restart later and a small minority will be replaced by road transport.

TfW said Saturday tickets will also be accepted on Sunday and Monday, with no need for customers to change or amend dates.

One minute Holly Price and her five-year-old daughter Olivia were having a “normal pyjamas day”, the next they both evacuated the house after the roof caved in.

Holly, from Newport, south Wales, says: “My daughter was upstairs and we heard an almighty bang and a lot of noise.

“I just dropped to the ground, then ran upstairs to grab my daughter because she was screaming.”

The chimney breast had fallen through and left “dust and debris everywhere”.

“I grabbed my daughter, and any clothes that I could, and took her outside.

“The sound will never, ever leave me – it was just heart-breaking to hear my daughter screaming.”

“I had no idea what was happening until I opened the door. It’s lucky we’re alive,” she adds.

The pair will be staying at a family member’s house tonight, then see if they can get emergency shelter.

A woman with a baby has been seriously injured when they were hit by a falling tree.

The ambulance service was called to the Embankment and Bushmead Avenue area of Bedford shortly after 14:00 GMT, a spokesman says.

The woman was taken to Bedford Hospital for treatment for injuries to her lower leg and pelvis, while the baby was uninjured, the ambulance service says.

Bedfordshire Police say the seriously injured woman was believed to be in her 50s.

People have been advised to avoid the area.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan says: “My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the woman who tragically lost her life and the man who was seriously injured in Highgate this afternoon.”

He also pays tribute to the emergency services “who have been working tirelessly to keep us safe” and urges all Londoners to remain cautious and avoid taking risks as the storm passes.

(BBC)