Warning of more storms after boy is killed by falling tree

The stormy weather that marked the start of the new year, leaving much of the country battered by gales and blizzards, is expected to resume tonight, the Met Office said yesterday.

The stormy weather that marked the start of the new year, leaving much of the country battered by gales and blizzards, is expected to resume tonight, the Met Office said yesterday.

Atlantic gales are forecast tonight in western Scotland and Northern Ireland and will spread south, bringing drier but colder weather across the country. However, from mid-week, the weather is expected to be mainly mild, with wet and windy spells, until the end of January according to the Met Office's four-week forecast.

An eight-year-old boy was killed on New Year's Day when gale-force winds blew down trees in Dunham Park, near Altrincham, Cheshire.

Timothy Sutton died instantly after two trees fell on him during a walk on National Trust property with 12 members of his family. Three other people, including his two-year-old sister and his mother, were injured.

Elsewhere, police in Cumbria received around 20 reports of fallen trees blocking roads.

Light flooding caused by heavy rain led to a number of accidents, a spokesman said. "Our patrols have been put under pressure by a huge number of wind-related incidents." he said.

Strong winds caused a 40-metre corrugated steel roof to collapse at Handley's Dairy in Woolton, Liverpool, on New Year's Day, causing extensive damage. Three football matches in the north-west of England were abandoned.