Killer UK Storms Claim Third Victim

A third person has died in Britain as heavy rain, strong winds and floods continue to batter the UK.

Bob Thomas, 77, died on Friday night after a tree fell on him while he was gathering his hens in Caernarfon, north Wales.

Paramedics took Thomas to hospital in Bangor before he was moved to a special unit in Stoke, where he later died.

Meanwhile, a woman killed in central London by debris when a building collapsed was named as 49-year-old minicab driver Julie Sillitoe from north London.

A police spokesman said Sillitoe, who was married with three grown up children, was working when her car was crushed by falling masonry.

Her two passengers, a 25-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, were sitting in the rear of the vehicle and were taken to hospital. According to the London Ambulance Service, another man believed to be a passer-by was treated for leg injuries.

The casualties of the extreme weather also include an 85-year-old passenger of the Marco Polo cruise ship, who died after a massive wave crashed into the window of the vessel in the English Channel.

More than 80,000 homes across the UK have now been left without power, and severe weather warnings remain in place in many parts of the country. There are currently 16 severe flood warning issued for coastal areas around the UK.

Communities around the country gathered sandbags to make makeshift barriers to protect their homes and businesses from flooding.

In Hampshire, more than 30 people were rescued by emergency services and the army from a seafront restaurant after it was flooded and strong gusts shattered windows.

Winds of up to 83mph have also caused major disruption to roads and railways, with hundreds of uprooted trees lying across rail tracks and highways. Many train services have also been cancelled.