Investigation launched after man in his 40s dies from tree falling on van during Storm Darragh
A man has died after a tree fell on his van during Storm Darragh this weekend.
An investigation has been launched after the man passed away when the tree collided with his vehicle on the A59 at Longton, near Preston in Lancashire.
It is believed the man was driving a Citroen van on the dual carriageway when the incident occurred.
Police were called at 9 am on Saturday (7 December) where the man was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
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Detective Sergeant Matt Davidson, from Lancashire Police, said: “Very sadly this incident has resulted in the death of a man and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.
“An investigation is ongoing, and I would appeal to anyone who saw what happened or has any dashcam or mobile phone footage to please get in touch.”
The man's next of kin have been informed and they are being supported by a specially trained officer.
Storm Darragh continues across the UK today, bringing up to 93mph winds to certain regions.
A red 'danger to life' weather warning was issued to around three million homes last night (6 December).
Residents in Devon, Bath and North East Somerset, the City of Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Monmouthshire and Newport will have received the alert.
"The storm may damage infrastructure causing power cuts and disruption to mobile phone coverage," the message read.
"Consider gathering torches, batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items you already have at home."
National Grid has confirmed that more than 55,000 customers have no power supply across the South West, South Wales, and the West Midlands due to Storm Darragh.
It's said the majority of these were in South Wales, although around 376,000 customers have had their power restored by its teams since the start of the storm.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said it remains a 'challenging situation'.
"About three million homes will have had the emergency alert system to their mobile phone. I would just encourage anyone who has had that to follow the advice," he told Sky News.
"Where you can, stay inside, don’t put yourself at risk, and just follow the advice at all times."
It's believed the extreme weather caused by Storm Darragh will begin to ease throughout the day on Sunday (8 December).
Lucy Devine