Sky Sports presenter Keith Downie narrowly avoids being crushed by ancient oak tree
Surveying the devastation of Storm Malik: Sky Sports presenter Keith Downie reveals he is ‘badly shaken but still alive’ after an oak tree crushed the roof of his BMW after boy, nine, and 60-year-old woman are killed by falling trees
Keith Downie said he had been left ‘badly shaken but still alive’ after the ancient oak crashed through his BMWThe channel’s North East reporter shared shocking photographs on social media showing a bough stuck in carIt comes as Storm Malik caused havoc across the UK, leaving nine-year-old boy and 60-year-old woman dead
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Britain was in the grips of Storm Malik last night as powerful gusts nearing 150mph battered the country and left a trail of destruction in its wake.
Winds topping 100mph were recorded in parts of Scotland on Saturday, with one meteorologist claiming to have seen speeds of 147mph at Cairngorm summit in the Scottish Highlands.
And a nine-year-old boy died in hospital after being hit by a falling tree in Winnothdale, near to Tean, in Staffordshire yesterday.
As the ferocious winds continued, a Jet2 flight from Malaga was forced to abandon its landing at Manchester Airport and had to divert to East Midlands Airport, where it was able to successfully land.
Northern Powergrid also warned of severe disruption to energy supplies and mobile phone coverage throughout Saturday, with safety advice around potential power cuts also being issued by Scotland’s provider SP Energy.
The latest scene come as the Met Office warned that Storm Corrie, which is set to bring winds of 90mph to parts of northern England, will hit the country later today.
It is set to move eastwards across Scotland on Sunday and push across the North Sea in the early hours of Monday.
Chief Meteorologist, Dan Suri, said: ‘Storm Corrie will bring very strong winds to the north of the UK, especially northern Scotland, on Sunday. This follows just one day after Storm Malik moves though also bringing a spell of very strong winds.
‘Storm Corrie will bring gusts of up to 90mph in exposed coastal locations in northern Scotland, with 70-80mph gusts more widely in the north. With back-to-back storms there could be updates to severe weather warnings, so keep an eye on the Met Office forecast.’
Today Sky Sports presenter Keith Downie revealed how his brand new BMW was crushed by a huge tree after it fell through the roof during Storm Malik.
Mr Downie said he had been left ‘badly shaken but still alive’ after the ancient oak crashed through his car windscreen yesterday.
The channel’s North East reporter shared shocking photographs on social media showing a bough stuck in the vehicle as well as extensive damage to the interior.
Keith Downie said he had been left ‘badly shaken but still alive’ after the ancient oak crashed through his windscreen yesterday
The channel’s North East reporter shared shocking photographs on social media showing a bough stuck in the vehicle as well as extensive damage to the interior
Downie, who is from Glasgow but lives in Newcastle, said he was thankful to have escaped his BMW – which appeared to be a 4 Series Coupé worth £40,000 – without getting injured
He tweeted: ‘How’s everyone’s Saturday? Thankfully I’m safe but things could’ve been a lot worse.’ He later added on Instagram: ‘Badly shaken today but still alive. Poor car only lasted three months… but it can be replaced’
The roof of a house in Bensham Gateshead falls on the street after strong winds from Storm Malik battered northern parts of the UK yesterday
Downie, who is from Glasgow but lives in Newcastle, said he was thankful to have escaped his BMW – which appeared to be a 4 Series Coupé worth £40,000 – without getting injured.
Pictured: Downie, whose car was smashed by a falling tree in Newcastle
He tweeted: ‘How’s everyone’s Saturday? Thankfully I’m safe but things could’ve been a lot worse.’ He later added on Instagram: ‘Badly shaken today but still alive. Poor car only lasted three months… but it can be replaced.’
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Sturgeon chaired a Scottish Government resilience meeting on Saturday as winds of more than 100mph were recorded.
Meanwhile Police were called to Winnothdale, near to Tean, at 1pm on Saturday after reports a tree had fallen on a boy and a man, and they were both taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital.
A spokesman 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 boy’s death comes after a 60-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Aberdeen as strong winds from Storm Malik battered northern parts of the UK.
Police Scotland said 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.
A spokesman said: ‘There are no suspicious circumstances. A report will now be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.’ Winds of more than 100mph were reported in Scotland, with widespread disruption to travel and power supplies.
Pictures taken in South Shields, Tyneside also showed the devastation Storm Malik wreaked on Saturday morning, with one stunned motorist discovering his £25,000 Range Rover destroyed by debris caused by strong winds.
Mr Downie revealed how his BMW was crushed by a huge tree after it fell through the roof during Storm Malik
Mr Downie said he had been left ‘badly shaken but still alive’ after the ancient oak crashed through his car windscreen yesterday
A house on Overhill terrace in Bensham Gateshead which lost its roof yesterday after strong winds from Storm Malik battered northern parts of the UK
An aerial view shows how the roof came clean off at the property in the North East as Britain braced for yet more turbulent weather
Images this morning showed the damage to Mr Downie’s car after a huge tree fell onto the vehicle amid strong winds
The Met Office has issued a ‘danger to life’ warning as gusts of up to 80mph could batter northern areas of the UK this weekend. Pictured: A fallen tree on top of a car in West Ralnton, near Durham, yesterday
A car was crushed under a fallen tree in Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon as strong winds continued to sweep the country
Father-of-two Russel Choudary, 40, had just moved his pristine white car to the opposite side of his street in South Shields to protect it from slates which had plummeted to the ground from his neighbour’s house.
But as soon as he parked the Range Rover, gale force winds caused dozens of bricks to cascade onto his 4×4, completely destroying it and leaving him distraught.
‘If I had moved it a minute earlier, I would have been killed’, he explained.
‘No sooner did I reach my front door, the bricks came crashing down. I could have been inside that car. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
‘There’s no way I would have survived. I feel very lucky to be alive.’
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.
The Met Office has said that fog and frost will lift on Sunday with temperatures reaching 1C in London amid the approaching Storm Corrie
The Met Office placed an amber warning on eastern Scotland until 3pm on Saturday for ‘very strong winds and disruption’ that could affect road, rail, air and ferry services. A yellow weather warning remains in place for Scotland and much of northern England until Monday
A flight tracker showed the plane made a full loop in the air around Manchester Airport, before heading south to Derby, where it landed at East Midlands Airport on Saturday
Elsewhere, a woman was also rescued from her Peugeot in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, after she became trapped inside when her vehicle was crushed by a huge falling tree yesterday
Dramatic pictures show a car crushed beneath hundreds of bricks, which fell from a residential property in Slaithwaite as Storm Malik battered West Yorkshire yesterday
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the impact of Storm Malik as ‘severe’. She warned 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. As of 10pm Saturday, SSEN said 23,000 households were without power, with the agency moving to ‘red alert’ status.
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.
A Russel Choudary, 40, looks on at the remains of his £25,000 Range Rover in South Shields, Tyneside after debris collapsed on top of the vehicle following strong winds brought by Storm Malik yesterday
More than 60,000 homes have already suffered some form of loss of power on Saturday, according to Northern Powergrid. Its live update map (pictured) also appeared to crash at points throughout the day due to a surge in online traffic
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.
A statement on Aberdeen’s website read: ‘We have been working closely with emergency services and the SPFL throughout the morning, closely monitoring the situation in the hope that conditions might improve to allow the game to be staged, but ultimately the safety of supporters, players and staff is our paramount concern and we would ask everyone to continue to adhere to the guidance being given by Police Scotland.’
The Scottish Premiership confirmed that Dundee’s game at Dens Park was off due to high winds.
The Championship game between Arbroath and Partick Thistle was also cancelled with no new dates set for the games.
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.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council told the PA news agency that it would likely be ‘considerably longer than 24 hours’ before residents could return home.
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.
