Deadly storm
4 people killed as 60mph winds and 3 inches of rain batter Britain Roads and rail disrupted by fallen trees and homes left without power
THREE inches of rain and howling gales have left death, destruction and travel chaos in their wake.
Three men died in Plymouth, Devon, when their van flipped on its side. And a fourth man, 48, was killed when a tree crushed his car in Odiham, Hants.
Winds up to 60mph whipped most of England and Wales, and were moving north to Scotland last night. But more rain, especially in the North West, is forecast for Thursday and Friday. Yesterday more than 300 homes and businesses in Devon and Cornwall lost power. Huge waves hit the front in Newhaven, East Sussex, and drivers faced flooded roads in Orpington, Kent.
Commuters had to battle downpours in Preston, Liverpool and London. One driver had a lucky escaped when a tree blew over on to his van in Penzance, Cornwall. Tributes have been paid to Marshall Arnott, 20, and his unnamed workmates, aged 22 and 24, who died in the van.
Marshall and girlfriend Elley Taylor, 19, have a four-month-old girl and were trying for another child. Elley wrote on Facebook: “I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest.”
They worked for R&M Utility and Engineering Services, which said: “We mourn the loss of these fantastic young men.”