Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SCHOOLBOY, 9, DIES AS STORM HITS UK
Child and woman, 60, killed by falling trees as 90mph gusts cause carnage
TWO people, including a nine-yearold boy, were killed yesterday as Storm Malik battered Britain.
The youngster was crushed by a falling tree while out with an elderly relative, who suffered a head injury.
Around 20 members of the public rushed to help lift the tree, in Tean, Staffs, but the boy died from his injuries at the Royal Stoke University Hospital.
Police said his family were being supported by specially-trained officers. The male relative remains in hospital.
A 60-year-old woman was also killed by a falling tree in Aberdeen as 90mph winds caused carnage.
And a 32-year-old truck driver died after crashing into oncoming traffic on the M74, near Lanark. It is thought his vehicle overturned after being hit by a strong gust.
More than 110,000 homes and businesses suffered power cuts. And the Met Office warned that winds of 90mph will continue across the UK until tomorrow afternoon, with Storm Corrie moving in just as Malik departs.
The Met Office had issued an amber alert covering large parts of Scotland and Northern England yesterday.
A gust of 147mph was recorded at the 4,084ft summit of Cairn Gorm in the Highlands. Malik, named by the Danish Meteorological Institute, also toppled trees and power lines.
Northern Powergrid said more than 62,000 homes and businesses were hit by outages in Northumberland and Co Durham. Director Paul Glendinning said: “Our engineers continue to do everything possible to assess the scale of the damage and prioritise repairs.”
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks also said 52,300 lost electricity.
A Bradford man escaped with cuts and bruises after his van was crushed by a tree. He had been out cycling and was getting changed in the back of the vehicle when the tree came down.
Travel was also severely disrupted. The Humber Bridge partly closed after a lorry blew on to its side and the Tyne and Wear Metro suspended its entire system. LNER also advised passengers not to travel on the East Coast mainline.
In South Shields, Tyneside, dad-of-two Russel Choudary, 40, saw his £25,000 Range Rover destroyed by a falling wall, moments after he parked it.
And two people were taken to hospital after a roof collapsed in Gateshead.
Dan Suri, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, warned that Storm Corrie will bring “very strong winds” to the north of the UK today.