UK weather: Storm Lilian leaves 63,000 homes with power issues as Leeds Festival closes stages
Parts of the UK are facing power cuts and widespread travel disruption thanks to Storm Lilian – with high winds forcing Leeds Festival organisers to shut two stages.
The storm surged across Wales and England this morning and left more than 60,000 homes across the north of England without power or facing supply issues.
Northern Powergrid said it has experienced “high levels of disruption to power supplies with over 63,418 customers having been affected so far”.
The worst affected area is West Yorkshire, it added. It said it has managed to “reconnect more than 27,000 customers of those who have been impacted”.
A statement posted on Northern Powergrid’s website said: “We know how difficult it can be for our customers during a power cut and we will continue to work throughout the storm to get the power back on as quickly as possible.”
Northern Rail has reported issues across its network, with services to and from cities including Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Wigan affected.
Passengers were this morning advised to avoid travel, and disruption was expected until 11am.
A number of routes in Wales – Wrexham General to Chester and Bidston, Machynlleth to Shrewsbury – have also faced disruption.
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A tree branch blocks a cycle path in Leeds city centre. Pic: PA
Police on the scene as workers remove fallen tree branches blocking roads and tram routes in Manchester. Pic: Reuters
As strong winds hit Leeds Festival, organisers urged people camping to “stay in your tents if you are onsite and feel safe to do so”.
A post on X continued: “If you are in your car, please remain there. If you are not yet at the festival site, please delay your arrival.”
They later said two stages – the BBC Radio 1 stage and the brand new ‘Aux’ venue – will not feature performances today.
Flights have also been disrupted with British Airways cancelling 14 departures that had been due to take off from London’s Heathrow. A number of other aircraft were delayed.
A spokesperson for the airline said the disruption was “due to restrictions imposed by air traffic control as a result of adverse weather across the UK”.
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Scaffolding that has been blown over in Rhyl, Wales, as storm Lilian hits the UK. Pic: David Bailey/PA
What’s the forecast for the rest of the weekend?
A yellow weather warning for rain is in place across much of South East England, for 6am to 1pm on Saturday.
The warning covers an area from the Isle of Wight up to Ipswich, Suffolk, and includes London.
People should expect “spells of rain, heavy at times, likely to cause some travel disruption and perhaps flooding in a few places”, the Met Office said.
The North and North West will continue to see “a fairly unsettled weekend”, with various fronts moving in and bringing more persistent rain, particularly for parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.
Temperatures in the South East will reach 21C (69.8F) on Saturday and Sunday and 23C (73.4F) on Monday, slightly below average for the time of year.
On Sunday, southern Britain and Ireland will be mainly dry, with some sunshine, but elsewhere there’ll be showers or longer spells of rain. It’ll be on the cool side again and rather blustery, especially in the North.
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A similar picture is expected for bank holiday Monday as southern and eastern Britain will be mainly dry, with bright or sunny spells while the wind will pick up again in the North and West.
Temperatures will remain below average for most of the country.
Looking further ahead, more settled weather is expected later next week to end the month and season, Sky’s Jo Robinson said.
There’s also growing confidence that very warm or hot conditions will affect the South at least.
A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
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A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
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