Storm: Two People Killed By Falling Trees in UK

As the storm topples hundreds of trees across Britain, one rips through three homes and ruptures a gas main, causing an explosion. Two people have been killed by falling trees in the severe storm which has been battering southern England. A 17-year-old girl died after a tree fell onto a static caravan in which she was sleeping in Kent. Paramedics and firefighters attended the scene in Hever, Edenbridge, but were unable to save the teenager. A man in his 50s was killed after a tree fell on his car in Lower High Street, Watford, in the early hours of this morning. A 14-year-old boy is also feared dead after being swept out to sea on Sunday in Newhaven, East Sussex. Around 270,000 homes suffered power cuts as hurricane-speed winds of up to 100mph swept across the South West, South, South East, the Midlands and the East of England.

The Dungeness nuclear power station in Kent automatically shut down both reactors after power to the site was cut off. Gusts of 99mph were recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight, according to the Met Office, while the Environment Agency said some 16 flood warnings and 134 flood alerts were in place. Winds topped 80mph along southern coastal areas and became turbulent inland reaching 81mph in Portland, Dorset, 75mph in Yeovilton in Somerset and 79mph at Andrewsfield in Essex. One tree devastated three houses and damaged two others when it fell on a gas main and led to an explosion in Hounslow, west London. Three people escaped from the properties before firefighters arrived, and an elderly woman was taken to hospital. Crews rescued a dog from one of the homes and some 12 people were evacuated from neighbouring premises as a precaution following the blast. Fierce winds overturned a double-decker into a field in Coram Street, Hadleigh in Suffolk, injuring the driver and several passengers. The driver, a man in his 40s, was initially trapped and was treated at the scene by paramedics. A police spokesman said: "He was suffering from neck pain, had taken a bash to his head and was in and out of consciousness