Storm Malik: Nine-year-old boy becomes second person killed as high winds batter UK

Falling trees behind deaths in Staffordshire and Aberdeen

A nine-year-old boy has become the second person to be killed as Storm Malik battered the UK with gale-force winds.

Staffordshire Police said the child died after a tree fell on him in Winnothdale near Tean. A man was also hit by the tree and is being treated in hospital.

His death follows that of a 60-year-old woman in Aberdeen on Saturday morning. Both were killed by falling trees.

Around 62,000 homes were left without power as the storm hit Scotland, parts of northern England and Northern Ireland on Saturday.

Winds of over 100mph were reported in parts of Scotland after warnings that another storm is set to bring more severe weather.

The Scottish government held an emergency meeting to assess the impacts of the storm. Nicola Sturgeon said many in Scotland would be left without power throughout the weekend.

She warned that Storm Corrie, due to hit on Sunday afternoon, may be worse than anticipated for northern parts of the country. The Met Office said wind speeds could reach 95mph in coastal areas.

In northern England, power cuts affected tens of thousands of homes and mobile phone signals were interrupted.

A major incident was declared in County Durham as the the storm brought down power lines across the region. Durham County Council said all possible resources were being committed to supporting affected residents.

Overturned lorry on the A1 near Hartlepool (National Highways)

Northern Powergrid said engineers had restored power to 48,000 customers by mid-afternoon.

Some drivers suffered long delays due to the effects of the storm on roads. National Highways said there was around two miles of congestion on the A1 near Hartlepool due to an overturned lorry.

There are currently 209 power outages on the Scottish grid, leaving thousands without power. Most were in the northeast or north of the country, according to the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.

Meanwhile, people were evacuated from their homes in Glasgow over fears high winds may damage a historic building.

An “exclusion zone” was set up around Old Trinity College as it was thought that existing structural issues could be exacerbated by high winds.

Fallen tree in Clydebank, near Glasgow (PA)

Glasgow City Council said residents should expect to be out of their homes for more than 24 hours. A rest centre was set up nearby to help those affected.

Storm Corrie is set to hit the UK on Sunday. An amber warning for wind was in place in northern Scotland while a yellow warning was in place for the rest of the country and much of northern England.

Dan Suri, the Met Office’s chief meteorologist, said: “Storm Corrie will bring very strong winds to the north of the UK, especially northern Scotland, on Sunday.”

He said it will “bring gusts of up to 90mph in exposed coastal locations in northern Scotland, with 70-80mph gusts more widely in the north”.