Motorist killed by falling tree as homes evacuated after Storm Henk flooding

A motorist has been killed by a falling tree as 90mph winds battered the Isle of Wight, and homes were evacuated, after Storm Henk brought flooding and disruption.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said a man in his 50s died while driving near Kemble, and more than 200 flood warnings remained in place on Wednesday, with severe flooding at holiday parks near Tenby, south-west Wales, and Northampton.

Speaking about the motorist, a Gloucestershire Constabulary spokesman said: “Emergency services, including an air ambulance, attended the location which is between Tetbury and Cirencester.

“Despite the efforts of those at the scene a man aged in his 50s and from the Bath area died. His next of kin and the coroner have been informed.

“The road remains closed as recovery and investigation work continues and motorists are asked to find alternative routes.”

Several residents were evacuated from houseboats and caravans at Billing Aquadrome, close to the River Nene near Northampton, due to flooding.

Robert Britchford moved to the site in 2016 and estimated that about 2,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

He said: “It’s the second time in three years that it has flooded. I moved my cars out of the way, and I thought I would try and wait it out, because I thought it would be nice today, but no, the evacuation notice went out at 2.30pm yesterday and that was it.

“I’m a bit anxious. We felt it was coming, but we hoped it wouldn’t. Now we have to find hotels. They won’t let us back on until this is all sorted, so it could be a month before we come back on.

“There are no sandbags or anything. I’ve got a bit of decking around mine, and that’s it, so if the water goes over door level, that’s my caravan gone, and I can’t afford a new one.”

Eddie Hancock, who lives about two miles away, said the water level was “scary” and he had never seen it so high in about 30 years of living in the area.

A severe flood warning, meaning significant risk to life, was issued but has since been downgraded.

Another holiday park in South Wales was flooded, with reports of raw sewage in the water.

Natural Resources Wales urged people at Kiln Park caravan site near Tenby to avoid contact with the water and said the River Ritec is likely to remain high for several days.

Meanwhile, dozens of homes in Bottleacre Lane in Loughborough, Leicestershire, were either breached or surrounded by floodwater, with some residents trapped in their homes.

The ground floor of Ivan Fletcher’s property, where he has lived for 16 years, was covered by about a foot of water, with his possessions moved upstairs.

The father of nine, seven of whom live at home, moved six of his children to a relative’s home in Leicester, and one stayed in the property.

He said: “I woke up this morning to this. There was water everywhere, and it has got worse. There are bins everywhere, rubbish, the kids were panicking, stress.

“I moved my wife and the kids to Leicester with her sister out of the way, and I’ll stay here with the cats, and my eldest daughter.

“It happened about 12 years ago but it was never this bad.

“We had no warning at all.

“I think it’s disgusting. (We have had) no help at all, no-one has come to help us, just deal with it ourselves.”

National Highways said several major roads in England were closed due to flooding and rail companies also reported disruption.

A falling tree injured a woman in Orpington, south-east London, and others damaged properties and blocked roads across the country.

Raw sewage has spilled from a flooded treatment works in Surrey when the River Mole to burst its banks.

Pollution spread over a public footpath beyond the fence of the unmanned Thames Water facility.

Heavy rain across southern England has led to the majority of Thames Water’s storm overflows discharging sewage into rivers and ground water.

It is likely that other water companies are also discharging more than usual, but only Thames Water has published a live interactive map of its monitors on rivers.

Simon Collins, of River Mole River Watch, said the Horley treatment works near Gatwick Airport has flooded four times since Storm Ciaran hit the UK in late October.

After the flood on Tuesday he tested the water pouring through the fence and found phosphate, a pollutant found in sewage, to be “off the scale”.

Thames Water has apologised for the pollution and said it has installed a temporary pump to clear the water while it upgrades the treatment plant in the long term.

The storm brought gusts of 94mph at Needles on the Isle of Wight while Exeter Airport saw winds of 81mph, and a family was left “exposed to the elements” more than 400ft in the air when strong winds “ripped the hatch” off their London Eye pod.

David Nock, 43, from Bournemouth, Dorset, told the PA news agency that the Eye began “flexing” on the way up and that it kept stop-starting as it struggled with the wind on Tuesday.

The observation wheel came to a total halt and “wasn’t going anywhere” at the top, he said, leaving him and his family of 11 stranded for five minutes.

A spokesman for the London Eye told PA that after an “isolated technical issue”, they “immediately ensured that guests safely disembarked”.

Several rail routes remained disrupted due to flooding, but some have reopened.

Great Western Railway said all lines were closed between Bristol Parkway and Swindon, with delays between Bristol Parkway and Cardiff after an earlier closure.

Services between London Paddington and South Wales were being diverted, adding about 40 minutes to journey times.

Flooding in a tunnel between Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare meant no trains could operate on the route.

The route between Liskeard and Looe was blocked, and some lines were closed between Totnes and Plymouth.

South Western Railway said disruption linked to the storm was likely to continue throughout Wednesday.

At 7am on Wednesday, Greater Anglia said it was still experiencing “severe disruption”, with “do not travel” warnings in place on routes in Norwich, Colchester, Peterborough and Cambridge.

All lines had reopened by 9am.

Great Northern Rail services resumed between Cambridge and both Ely and King’s Lynn after work to repair damaged overhead wires and remove a fallen tree.

National Highways said the A21 in East Sussex was closed between the A2100 near Johns Cross and the A28 near Baldslow because a fallen tree was resting on power cables above the road.

Flooding closed the A52 in Nottinghamshire westbound from the A46 at Saxondale to the A6011 at Gamston.

National Highways said: “With more rain expected in many areas throughout the day, it is anticipated that the roads will remain closed for several hours.”

The Met Office issued a further yellow warning for heavy rain across southern England from 12pm on Thursday to 3am on Friday.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had received 140 flood-related calls in the last 24 hours while Leicestershire Police said a large number of homes were affected by flooding in Loughborough.

The Environment Agency urged people to avoid walking near coastal paths where large waves could drag them into the sea.