Man crushed to death as winds batter Britain

Waves crash over the harbour wall in Dover, Kent, as fierce storms battered Britain today (PA)

A man was killed by a falling tree today as winds of more than 100 mph battered the UK.

The man in his 50s was crushed by an oak tree as he sat in the driver's seat of a parked van in Kent.

Strong winds swept across the country bringing travel chaos as millions of people returned to work after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Trees fell on to railway tracks and power lines, lorries toppled over on busy roads and flood warnings were issued after rivers swelled.

High seas and rocky swells buffeted ferries and caused the Port of Dover to close, while gusts of wind damaged the roof of a stand at Epsom Downs racecourse in Surrey.

Kent Police said the man, from Tonbridge, was pronounced dead at the scene on Sandhurst Road, Tunbridge Wells, at 12.25pm.

A spokesman said: "His van is believed to have been stationary at the time of the impact. A male passenger in the vehicle is not believed to have been injured."

Paul Harragan, who lives yards from the scene of the accident, said three branches had "completely crushed" the vehicle.

"The van is completely crushed and there's a man with a chainsaw cutting the branches," he said.

Also in Kent, the Port of Dover was forced to close between 10.30am and 1.20pm because of high seas.

"There was a backlog of around five ferries waiting to come into the port when it was closed," a Port spokeswoman said.

A ferry named the Norman Spirit, run by the LD Lines Network, was rocked by waves around the harbour walls.

The P&O Ferries Dover-Dunkirk services suffered delays of up to 60 minutes, the Larne-Cairnryan crossings were suspended and ferry travel from the mainland to the Isle of Wight was also affected.

Figures published by the Met Office reported wind speeds of 106mph at Great Dun Fell in the Cumbrian north Pennines and 102mph in Edinburgh.

The wind caused a horse racing meeting in Ayr to be called off, while Epsom racecourse was evacuated after part of the grandstand flew off.

A spokesman said: "There were no injuries to anyone but as a result and after liaising with the emergency services, the racecourse has been evacuated and all non essential members of staff sent home."

Nick Prebble, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, explained why the country was hammered by the fierce storm.

"A deep low pressure system raced across central Scotland and travelled north east though the day," he said.

"Severe gale force winds caused structural damage in places, and there were gusts up to 100mph.

"Squally rain was being dumped around very quickly by gale force winds.

"The heavy bands of rain were swirling around, particularly in the northern and western areas."

Commuters faced misery as the bad weather meant some East Coast main line trains between London and Scotland had to start and terminate at Newcastle upon Tyne.

Buses replaced trains on some rail services between London and Harrogate and Hull, rail services across Kent were disrupted and drivers planning to use the Dartford Crossing between Kent and Essex faced delays on the M25 of up to 90 minutes as the QEII bridge was closed for much of the day because of the wind.

A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: "Incredibly strong winds have caused problems on some parts of the rail network today as trees and other debris have fallen on to the track, blocking lines and damaging overhead wires and signalling.

"The safety of passengers is paramount but we apologise to anyone who has been affected. Network Rail engineers are working to resolve the problems as soon as possible in what are extremely challenging conditions."

The Environment Agency issued 20 flood warnings across the country, including 13 in the South West, three each in the Midlands and the North East, and one in Wales. It also issued 66 less severe flood alerts.

During the day the Met Office issued a red warning for strong winds in the Central Lowlands in Scotland and an amber warning for snow in the north of the country.

The red warning was later removed, but amber warnings remained for snow and wind.

In Northern Ireland 10,000 properties were left without electricity after fallen trees and severe winds damaged power lines, causing hundreds of faults.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said it had restored power to thousands of customers throughout the morning and coastal areas were worst affected.

PA