UK weather: woman dies after car hits fallen tree during Storm Henk

Driver, 87, killed in Oxfordshire and major incident declared along River Trent amid more wind and heavy rain

An 87-year-old driver died after hitting a fallen tree that had been reported to police 90 minutes before, as more wind and heavy rain swept across the UK and a major incident was declared along the River Trent in Nottinghamshire[1].

The woman, who has not been named, was in a red Smart Forfour when she collided with the tree near Crays Pond, Oxfordshire[2], at about 5.25pm on Tuesday during Storm Henk.

Thames Valley police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct because the force had been told about the fallen tree about an hour and a half before the fatal crash. The IOPC said: "We will be assessing the referral to determine whether any further action is required from us."

The woman is the second driver to have died in this week's weather. On Tuesday afternoon a man in his 50s from Bath was killed when a tree fell on his car in Gloucestershire.

Emergency planners declared the major incident in Nottinghamshire as water approached record levels.

The local resilience forum said the Trent had yet to peak and told people in at-risk areas to make preparations in case they needed to evacuate.

A statement on the county council's website said: "Latest forecasts are currently showing that peaks along the River Trent could come close to the highest levels on record from the year 2000 and so Nottinghamshire county council and its partner agencies are advising residents in areas along the Trent Valley to be prepared for flooding."

As of 5pm on Thursday there were still more than 500 flood warnings and alerts in place for England[3] and Wales. The Environment Agency said about 450 properties had been flooded this week.

Stefan Laeger, a flood duty manager at the agency, said: "Significant surface water and river flooding impacts are possible across parts of the Midlands and the south and east of England on Thursday and Friday due to heavy localised rainfall falling on already very saturated catchments.

"Ongoing minor impacts are also likely across much of England over the next five days as some larger rivers slowly respond to recent and forecast rain."

The Met Office earlier issued a yellow severe warning for a band of rain sweeping across the West Country, the southern counties of England, London[4] and East Anglia lasting until 3am on Friday.

An area of low pressure associated with the rain was also bringing some strong winds, with the Jersey Met Office publishing a red warning for winds of 60mph (96km/h).

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Between 10am and noon on Thursday, 10mm of rain fell in south Cornwall, the UK Met Office said. Winds of up to 40mph were anticipated on the south coast.

The forecaster said the rain was falling on already saturated ground, which could cause further flooding and travel disruption.

Great Western Railway advised people not to travel. It said: "Due to heavy rainfall forecast on already flooded ground, Great Western Railway is advising people against starting their journey by rail. Those who have already travelled should consider making the return journey as soon as possible.

"With further flood warnings in place and the amount of rain forecast, Network Rail has identified key sites in Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall as being at risk of flooding from around 3pm.

Trains may not be able to operate through these areas."

The direct route between Swindon and Bristol Parkway remained closed due to flooding.

The Environment Agency said it was investigating a spill of raw sewage from a flooded treatment works in Surrey.

A spokesperson said: "We are aware of the ongoing situation at Horley sewage treatment works, which is completely unacceptable.

We have recorded non-compliances against Thames Water for breaching their permit, and our officers are actively investigating this incident."

• UK weather[6]
• England[7]
• London[8]
• Flooding[9]
• Nottinghamshire[10]
• Oxfordshire[11]
• news[12]

References

1. ^ Nottinghamshire (www.theguardian.com)
2. ^ Oxfordshire (www.theguardian.com)
3. ^ England (www.theguardian.com)
4. ^ London (www.theguardian.com)
5. ^ skip past newsletter promotion (www.theguardian.com)
6. ^ UK weather (www.theguardian.com)
7. ^ England (www.theguardian.com)
8. ^ London (www.theguardian.com)
9. ^ Flooding (www.theguardian.com)
10. ^ Nottinghamshire (www.theguardian.com)
11. ^ Oxfordshire (www.theguardian.com)
12. ^ news (www.theguardian.com)
13. ^ Reuse this content (syndication.theguardian.com)