Driver dies as

ONE person died yesterday and others had a lucky escape as 70mph Storm Erik battered parts of Britain.

The South bore the brunt of the fierce gales with trees uprooted and bridges forced to close.

Weather warnings remain in place today for much of the country as strong winds cause disruption further north.

In a fatal accident, a huge tree smashed on to a driver’s Alfa Romeo just before dawn, trapping him in the vehicle.

Moments later a second vehicle crashed into the wreckage, causing the driver fatal injuries.

The tragedy happened on the A384 on the edge of Dartmoor near Buckfastleigh, in Devon.

Submerged

The 50-year-old victim, from Totnes, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other motorist, a woman in her 20s from Buckfastleigh, had to be cut out of her Hyundai by the fire service.

She was then taken to hospital in Plymouth with minor injuries.

Police closed the road for most of the day “due to the complexity of the recovery operation and to carry out an examination of the scene”.

As the fierce winds and rain hit Wales, two people narrowly escaped death when they were rescued from their submerged car on a flooded road in St Clears, near Carmarthen.

Onlookers raised the alarm and pulled the driver and passenger from the vehicle. Scene in Devon where a falling tree yesterday caused a fatal accident after crushing a passing car

Firefighters and paramedics were also called to help and the pair were taken to hospital for checks.

Bus passengers had a lucky escape when a large tree crashed through the roof of a double-decker in Poole, Dorset.

The 40ft tree was blown over

in 50mph winds and landed on top of the passing X6 Morebus.

Its trunk tore through the front windscreen, crushing the seats at the front of the bus, and came out the right hand side.

There were five passengers on board at the time but none were sitting at the front of the

top deck. At the same time a Toyota Yaris in Bournemouth, was crushed by a fallen tree. The driver was uninjured.

Both accidents were logged as reported to police at exactly the same moment, 11.49am.

Another tree also fell down on the Christchurch bypass in the same area. Elsewhere, a