Gusts reached 93mph as Storm Darragh ripped its way through the country causing devastation and tragically killing two motorists with trees falling on their vehicles
Brits have been battered by gusts reaching 93mph from Storm Darragh and images show its full force and devastation.
Tragically two people died on Saturday with maximum weather warnings in place from the Met Office, while tens of thousands were left without power and there was transport chaos.
West Midlands Police said the latest victim was killed when a tree fell and hit his car on Silver Birch Road, Erdington, on Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the day, a man died after a tree fell onto his van in Lancashire. The man, in his 40s, was driving his Citroen vehicle on the A59 at Longton, near Preston, at about 9am in the morning.
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”.
Wind speeds reached 93mph overnight in Capel Curig in North Wales, while gusts hit 92mph in Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula. In other parts of Wales, Northern Ireland and south-west England, gusts 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”.
Strong winds will continue to hamper the majority of the UK on Sunday but the worst of the storm has now passed eastwards as it heads to the Continent.
