Deadly Darragh leaves a trail of destruction

STORM Darragh claimed its first victim yesterday after a tree fell on a van, as Britain was battered by winds of up to 96mph and torrential rain.

- Jaymi McCann

The man, in his 40s, died after the tree hit his Citroen van on the A39 at Longton, near Preston, Lancs, yesterday morning.

It follows at least five deaths amid Storm Bert's flooding chaos two weeks ago.

Trains were cancelled and many high-profile events postponed including the Everton v Liverpool Premier League derby.

As of 4pm, 177,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales were still without power. The Energy Networks Association confirmed that around 768,000 customers had been reconnected earlier.

The Government's "risk to life" mobile phone alert occurred at 1am in the largest use of the warning system yet, with millions of people in parts of Wales and south-west England told to "stay indoors".