Three die as Storm Doris smashes through Britain
STORM Doris swept away from the UK yesterday, leaving in its wake three dead, tens of thousands without power and a young schoolgirl with serious head injuries.
As winds hit 94mph, the “weatherbomb” caused widespread disruption, downing trees and leaving rail and road networks struggling to cope.
In Wolverhampton, a 29-year-old woman died after suffering head injuries when she was struck by “wooden debris” while walking past a Starbucks cafe in the city centre.
She was yesterday named as Tahnie Martin, a university worker from Stafford.
Witness Rebecca Davis, a 40-yearold teacher, told how she saw a piece of debris “about the size of a coffee table” fly through the air before hitting the marketing specialist.
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Ms Martin, who had just organised the University of Wolverhampton’s English department’s 50th anniversary dinner, was badly injured and died at the scene.
Detective Inspector Paul Joyce said: “We are still trying to ascertain who the building belongs to and whether there is any criminal liability.”
West Midlands Police were working with Wolverhampton Council to establish exactly how the tragedy happened.
University of Wolverhampton Vice-Chancellor Professor Geoff Layer said: “We are all deeply saddened by this tragic loss. During Tahnie’s short time at the University, she made a real impact both in a professional and personal capacity. She became a very popular member of the team and was highly valued.” Dr Aidan Byrne, a senior lecturer in the university’s English department, wrote on Facebook: “Everyone in the English department is shocked and saddened by the death yesterday of Tahnie Martin. She organised our 50th anniversary dinner on Wednesday night. She was irrepressibly optimistic and kind, full of ideas and always enthusiastic. We were so grateful to her, and we’re glad that the last thing we did on Wednesday night was give her a hug and tell her how much we appreciated everything she did.” In Swindon, Wilts, a 32-year-old woman, who has not been named, was also killed after she was blown into the road and hit by a road sweeping lorry.
The young mother was pushing an empty pushchair to pick up her young child from a nearby childminder when she was struck by the vehicle.
Devastated onlookers said the “wind took hold of her” and swept the empty pram into the path of the road cleaner.
In London, a lorry driver also died after crashing into a lamp post during the height of Thursday’s storm.
Paramedics tried to save the driver, a man in his 50s, but he died at the scene in New Cross, southeast London.
A schoolgirl in Milton Keynes was seriously injured after a roof caved in due to strong winds.
She was taken to hospital with “serious injuries” but was yesterday understood to be in a stable condition.
In North Wales, the devastating winds caused the pier in Colwyn Bay to collapse.
At one point, up to 60,000 homes and businesses – mainly in Scotland and East Anglia – were without power as Storm Doris downed cables.
In addition to widespread train cancellations and problems on the roads with fallen trees, there was also disruption at airports, with many flights cancelled or severely delayed.