Five feared dead as UK swept by storms
A DRIVER was feared dead last night after a tree fell on a car on a Scots road as storms claimed the lives of four others across the UK.
Police were called to the onevehicle accident in Perthshire just after 8pm, where it is believed the driver died after the area was swept by heavy rain and high winds.
Torrential downpours and 65mph gusts also brought treacherous road conditions south of the Border.
In Plymouth, Devon, three workmates died when their van came off the road and overturned amid ‘extreme’ weather on the A38.
Elsewhere, a 48-year-old man was killed on the A287 in Hampshire when a falling tree crushed his Citroen Xsara Picasso.
In Scotland, emergency services were still at the accident scene last night on the A85 Perth to Crieff road.
A police spokesman said: ‘Police Scotland and other emergency services are currently at a serious (incident) on the A85 approximately two miles east of Gilmerton. Only one vehicle involved and the road is currently closed in both directions.’ Elsewhere in Scotland, overnight downpours left two lanes of the M8 motorway flooded, causing huge morning rush-hour tailbacks near Glasgow. The Edinburgh city bypass also ground to a halt after flooding at the Dreghorn junction yesterday.
Six flood alerts were issued across Scotland yesterday, with forecasters warning that swathes of the country could be hit by up to three inches of overnight rain.
The Met Office said the rain would ‘linger’ over Scotland until at least midday, with northern areas, including Aberdeenshire, expected to bear the brunt.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency yesterday issued amber flood alerts for Aberdeenshire, Caithness and Sutherland, Easter Ross and the Great Glen and the Scottish Borders.
Alerts were also issued for Edinburgh and the Lothians and Findhorn, Nairn, Moray and Speyside.
The Met Office issued yellow ‘be aware’ warnings for northern, eastern and south eastern areas of the country up until midday.
A spokesman warned of ‘localised flooding along with disruption to some transport routes and difficult driving conditions’.
There was a chance of ‘greater impacts across the northern half of the warning area where some flooding of homes and businesses is possible’.