Boy, nine, killed in fierce storm
A Nine-year-old boy killed by a falling tree was among three people left dead as storms swept Britain yesterday.
The child was trapped after the tree toppled over in high winds.
An elderly relative who was with him suffered a head injury in the tragedy in Staffordshire, shortly before 1pm yesterday.
Witnesses said 20 people rushed to lift the tree off the schoolboy in Winnothdale, near Tean village.
Both the boy and the man were taken to hospital but the youngster died from his injuries.
A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: “The boy’s family are being supported by speciallytrained officers.”
Hours earlier a 60-year-old woman was the first confirmed death from Storm Malik. The weather front wreaked havoc, leaving thousands of homes without power, travel disrupted and mobile phone signals cut. Sports fixtures were also cancelled.
The woman, who has not been named, was walking through a park when a large tree was uprooted in the Mastrick area of Aberdeen around 10.30am.
A 32-year-old lorry driver also died on the M74 in South Lanarkshire yesterday morning.
His wagon was blown over by the wind and crashed into a Land Rover after ploughing through the central reservation at around 7.50am.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene while the other motorist was left badly shaken but uninjured. Meanwhile, gale force winds from Storm Malik continued to batter northern parts of the UK with one freak gust of 147mph recorded at the Cairngorn summit in Scotland.
An amber weather alert with a risk to life warning was in place along the east coast of Scotland and the north east of England, as people were advised to avoid travelling.
Storm Malik is expected to hit Denmark today but a second weather front – Storm Corrie – is set to bring further high winds and rain to northern areas of the UK today. Another yellow warning for wind is in place for the North West of England and coastal East Anglia, northwards, from 6pm until midday tomorrow.