Video: Woman killed by falling tree and homes evacuated as storms batter Yorkshire

A woman from Pontefract was killed after being impaled on a branch when a falling tree hit her car as storm-force blasts made it too dangerous for planes to land at one airport, felling trees and power cables and causing bridge closures.

As gusts reached 100mph, aircraft had to be diverted from Leeds-Bradford airport where high winds caused havoc for some incoming flights.

One plane from Dublin had to switch to Liverpool after making three unsuccessful attempts to land at Leeds-Bradford last night,

with several other domestic flights being forced to fly on to Manchester.

The dead woman was impaled by a branch when a tree crashed onto her car in high winds, police said.

West Yorkshire Police said the woman, from Pontefract, was taken to hospital after the Vauxhall Zafira she was travelling in was hit by the tree on Aberford Road, Wakefield, but she died soon afterwards.

A man who was driving the car was also hurt in the incident at about 8.30pm last night.

A West Yorkshire Fire Service spokeswoman said: "This was a tree fallen onto a car and one female, impaled by a branch, was extricated by fire service personnel and passed into the hands of the ambulance service."

A number of homes in the area were evacuated overnight and the road - the A642 Wakefield to Rothwell route - is likely to remain closed until this afternoon.

This morning the road remained sealed off as police carried out their investigations at the scene of the accident, opposite a derelict church.

A number of officers could be seen with instruments surveying the scene.

The car remained in the middle of the road with its roof cut off, doors open and bonnet up.

Large branches from a tree in the churchyard lay strewn across the road. It appeared to have been severed about two-thirds of the way up. A workman was on standby with a chainsaw.

Neighbours spoke of their shock at the tragedy.

Christine Wright said: "It's really shocking to think something like this could happen. It is a freak accident.

"I heard a loud thud about nine-ish, but there was so much noise with the wind I didn't think much of it, initially. Something made me look out of my window and I saw two police officers in yellow jackets. I then heard the ambulance sirens.

"It's so worrying, there are lots of tall, old trees around here. Someone needs to look at them."

Another neighbour, who declined to be named, said he did not hear anything because of the noise of the wind last night.

He said: "It was a tragic accident. The chances of you driving past when the branch falls off must be a million-to-one.

"My wife was driving down that same road about half-an-hour beforehand. It is just awful what has happened."

A local tree surgeon arrived at the scene and claimed the trees that line the road could have gone "brittle" through traffic fumes.

Ian Humphries said: "Unfortunately, looking at the tree the first thing that comes to mind is it has not been maintained in a long while.

"It doesn't look a healthy tree by what has broken off at the top. I would say it's not healthy, it's not healthy by the road traffic going past."

Mr Humphries said trees shed branches if they are not regularly cut back and maintained.

He estimated that the branches had fallen about 40ft and probably weighed more than a ton.

"The momentum coming down would have been tremendous," he added.

A Wakefield Council spokesman said: "We are checking whether Wakefield Council is responsible for maintaining the trees at the site and we are fully co-operating with the police investigation into this tragic accident."

Elsewhere, an RAF rescue helicopter and two lifeboats came to the aid of a fishing boat struggling in "atrocious" weather off the east coast.

The 60ft boat - Fruitful Harvest III - was taking on water off Cromer, Norfolk, as winds of nearly 70 mph whipped waves to around 20ft, said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

An MCA spokesman said conditions were too dangerous to lower a winchman so the helicopter crew, from Leconfield, East Yorkshire, dropped pumps to allow fishermen to clear water from the boat.

She said the vessel was escorted back to port in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, by lifeboats from Cromer and Humber, which is based at Spurn Point near Grimsby.

"I cannot praise highly enough the skill and dedication of all involved in tonight's rescue in atrocious weather," said coastguard watch manager Mario Siano.

"The crew of the rescue helicopter in particular have managed to drop a very heavy and unwieldy pump on the back of a fishing vessel in nearly 70mph winds."

Other parts of the country badly battered were Anglesey and Northern Ireland, where downed power lines left thousands of homes without power, while localised flooding was reported in other parts of Wales and the Isle of Wight.

In Northern Ireland, around 5,000 people were left without electricity as severe weather disrupted power networks.

The Dartford-Thurrock river crossing, the QEII Bridge, was closed yesterday afternoon for safety reasons and police in Northamptonshire had to cordon off a bungalow after strong winds blew part of a tree on to it.

Elsewhere, fire crews on the Isle of Wight dealt with flood-related incidents at about 100 homes, mostly in Ryde, following heavy rain.

Flight and ferry crossings to the Isle of Man were also cancelled.

This morning, gusts of 62mph hammered the coast in the north west but conditions were set to improve throughout the day.

Aisling Creevey, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the Press Association's weather company, said: "It's unusual to see sustained winds for such a long period of time.

"We can get strong winds for a couple of hours but it pretty much went on for 24 hours."

Similar conditions are seen every two to three years, she said, and were last recorded in January 2007.

Yesterday's gust of 100mph was recorded on Great Dun Fell in the Pennines but this failed to top the last recorded high for the exposed spot.

In January 1968, winds hit 134mph at the same site.

Mostly dry, bright and breezy weather was forecast for today.

"There's a warm front coming up across southern England and some rain but nothing significant," Ms Creevey said.

"It is down to remain windy with winds of around 25mph to 35mph across the south east this morning and up to 50mph in Scotland and the north east."

Overall, speeds of 50mph and 60mph were seen inland last night, compared with 60mph to 70mph in coastal areas.

The heaviest rain fell in Shap, Cumbria, where 29mm fell in 12 hours. Lancashire and Yorkshire saw rainfall of 7-10mm in the same period.