Storm Malik: Boy, 9, dies and man in hospital after tree falls on them in Winnothdale
High winds sweep across Scotland, the Midlands and northern England as the full force of Storm Malik is felt, Mark McQuillan reports
A nine-year-old boy has died and a man is in hospital after being hit by a falling tree in Winnothdale as strong winds from Storm Malik battered northern parts of the UK.
The young boy's death comes after a 60-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Aberdeen.
Staffordshire Police were called to Hollington Road, Winnothdale, near to Tean, at 1pm on Saturday following reports that a tree had fallen on a boy and man, and they were both taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital.
But despite the best efforts of medical staff the boy died. His family are being supported by specially-trained officers from Staffordshire Police.
The man remains in hospital and police are asking people to avoid the area where the incident happened.
A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: “Sadly, despite the best efforts of medical staff, a nine-year-old boy passed away.
“The boy’s family are being supported by specially-trained officers. The man remains in hospital.
“A scene remains at the location, where people are asked to avoid the area. The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
The death came after the death of the 60-year-old woman who was fatally wounded by an uprooted tree in AberdeenPolice Scotland said that emergency services were called to Deveron Road in Aberdeen on Saturday at around 10.30am to reports of a sudden death of a 60-year-old woman.Winds of more than 100mph have been reported in parts of Scotland, with widespread disruption to travel and power supplies.
Weather warnings were in place across all of Scotland, northern England and parts of Northern Ireland for most of Saturday due to the high winds and rain.
The Met Office have said that another blast of severe strong winds, now officially named Storm Corrie, is set to hit parts of the UK.
It is set to move eastwards across Scotland on Sunday and push across the North Sea in the early hours of Monday.
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for wind across northern parts of Scotland from Sunday into Monday morning, with gusts of up to 90mph in exposed coastal locations in northern Scotland and 70-80mph gusts more widely in the north.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned that once Malik subsides Storm Corrie "may be more severe” than first anticipated in parts of the north and north-east of Scotland.Ms Sturgeon also said in a statement on Twitter that some Scots could be without power over the weekend.
A major incident was declared in County Durham on Saturday to deal with the devastation caused by Storm Malik.
On Saturday power supplies and mobile phone coverage were affected. Northern Powergrid said the storm had caused disruption and its teams were restoring power through alternative routes on its network “where possible, assessing damage and co-ordinating repairs wherever conditions permit”.
SP Energy Networks, the company responsible for electricity transmission in central and southern Scotland, issued safety advice around potential power cuts.
It said customers should keep a battery or wind-up torch to hand and keep mobile phones fully charged, and people should also beware of fallen power lines.
Network Rail said fallen trees had caused numerous services to be cancelled, including Inverness to Thurso, Perth to Aberdeen, Aberdeen to Dundee and Glasgow Queen Street to Oban.
Two Scottish Premiership games were postponed, with matches between Aberdeen and St Johnstone and Dundee and St Mirren called off due to safety concerns around the stadiums.
Residents in the west end of Glasgow were also evacuated from there homes over fears the high winds had exacerbated existing structural issues with the towers of Old Trinity College.