Update: Man dies after tree crushes car

6:45pm Thursday 18th January 2007

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A MAN died today after a tree fell on to a car as storm-force winds battered the county.

Police said the incident happened shortly after midday on the A329 Reading Road in Streatley.

A tree fell on to a Ford Fiesta and the front seat passenger, a 36-year-old man from Pangbourne, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was taken to hospital.

In South Parks Road, Oxford, a large section of hoarding at a building site for Oxford University's new research lab, blew down, injuring four people

Police said none of the casualties, who have been taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, have life-threatening injuries.

A 28-year-old man sustained cuts and a minor head injury, a 28-year-old woman sustained a fractured cheekbone, a 30-year-old woman, who works for the University, sustained a fractured cheekbone and another member of staff dislocated his hip.

Parks Road has been closed at the junction with St Cross Road and Holywell Street and Longwall Street has also been shut.

Traffic is being directed up High Street, where the prohibition has been suspended for the duration of the road closures. Police said the road was expected to open at 6.30pm.

Police in Oxfordshire this afternoon urged motorists not to drive on the county's storm-battered roads unless it was esssential.

Inspector Paul Winks, of the roads policing department, said: "The road conditions are extremely hazardous at the moment due to the severe weather.

"For drivers who do have to go out we are asking them to allow extra time and leave plenty of space between them and the car in front.

"Drivers should also be aware that the roads are littered with debris with branches and trees coming down."

Today, high winds toppled a tree on to an electricity line in Milton, near Abingdon, leaving 7,000 homes without power.

Power went down when the tree fell on the high-voltage line at 8am.

Southern Electric brought an additional 20 engineers down from Scotland in anticipation of high winds causing problems with the weather.

The company said engineers were working on fixing it at the moment although they said the weather was likely to hamper repairs.

A spokesman said: "I would encourage people to give us a call if they are worried about the situation. We do provide temporary heating facilities if necessary."

At about noon, a lorry was blown over on the northbound carriageway of the M40 between junction seven at Milton Common and junction eight at Oxford services, near Wheatley.

The whole carriageway was blocked by the vehicle, but no other vehicles were involved in the incident.

A Highways Agency spokesman expected the lorry to be removed "relatively quickly".

The Met Office said gusts of up to 70mph could hit exposed parts of the county, such as the Cotswolds.

Traffic disruption is likely and Southern Electric is gearing up for power cuts.

Susan Scobie, of Southern Electric, said: "We are prepared. In the event of electricity going off people need to make sure they have got a torch to hand and hopefully candles. Stay in one room and check on neighbours"

The strong winds will combine with heavy persistent rainfall throughout the day to create torrid conditions for drivers.

Ralph Grant, Oxfordshire County Council highways engineer, gave the following advice.

He said: "Do not drive into water that has collected on a road unless you are absolutely certain of its depth. Instead, please report it to us and we will endeavour to get out to the scene and put up warning boards."

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service area manager Martin Crapper said the 24 stations across the county were ready to deal with any accidents or flooding problems.

He said the brigade had specialist equipment which can shift 7,000 litres of water ready for action.

The high winds are expected to be stronger than the gales which hit the county last week. MET office meteorologist Barry Gromett said there was an 80 per cent chance of the predicted strong winds hitting the county.

The high winds are expected to persist until late evening and a cold snap is then set to hit the county on Monday with temperatures dropping to a much colder four or five degrees Celsius.