Yorkshire woman killed as falling tree smashes into car (Video)

The 55-year-old from Pontefract died when she was impaled by a branch from a tree that crashed on to a Vauxhall Zafira in Wakefield on Thursday night.

Wakefield Council has launched an investigation into the maintenance of trees at the scene of the tragedy.

The incident happened as high winds and heavy rain battered many parts of the UK.

Gusts reached 100mph on Great Dun Fell in the Pennines, and aircraft had to be diverted from Leeds-Bradford Airport where the wind speeds caused havoc for some incoming flights.

In Lancashire, gales caused up to 1m worth of damage to the Blackpool illuminations. Among the wrecked tableaux were favourites based on Alice in Wonderland and Sing A Song of Sixpence.

The North bore the brunt of the severe conditions. The heaviest rain fell in Shap, Cumbria, where more than an inch fell in 12 hours while Lancashire and Yorkshire saw rainfall of up to half an inch in the same period.

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

The wind at Great Dun Fell was the most powerful recorded yesterday but failed to top the last recorded high for the exposed spot, in January 1968, winds hit 134mph at the same site.

A forecaster with MeteoGroup, Lindsay Dovey, said last night: "The winds have generally started to ease and this will continue over the coming days."

Occasional rain is expected in Yorkshire today with breezy conditions and sunny spells.