Woman has lucky escape after Storm Eunice brings down tree on car

A woman has had a lucky escape after a tree brought down by Storm Eunice hit her car.

The woman was pulled out through the car door while emergency services were called to outside Rednock School in Dursley, Gloucestershire.

Elsewhere, a church spire has fallen in Wells, Somerset, and thousands of homes in the West are without power.

Train services between the West and London have also been severely disrupted.

A dramatic video showing the top of the spire on St Thomas's Church falling to the ground was captured by 17-year-old Matthew Hodson.

Mr Hodson lives next to the Grade II-listed church and said he was filming it after noticing the spire was "moving quite a lot".

"I noticed that a bit of the concrete had moved slightly. It kept moving the more violent the wind became... then it just fell," he said.

"I couldn't quite believe it. I would never expect anything like that to happen.

"It was quite big, a couple metres, so a big chunk. It was quite a powerful drop.

"Luckily it didn't go down on the other side, where it would have fallen onto the church roof, which would have caused much more damage, and luckily no one was walking at the time, so no one was hurt or injured."

The church vicar, Claire Towns, said they now had a "major restoration" on their hands, but added they were thankful it was not worse.

There are more than 9,600 homes without power in Gloucestershire and Western Power said they were dealing with outages across Somerset.

Severn Trent is working on a burst pipe which has left homes without water in Frampton on Severn.

Transport is being severely hit, with the Great Western Railway and South Western Railway networks closed entirely and customers advised not to travel.

Meanwhile, all bus services in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Wells have now been suspended until Saturday.

The storm also closed both of the Severn Crossings between England and Wales - the Prince of Wales Bridge and the M48 Severn Bridge. It is thought to be the first time both have closed due to wind.

The Prince of Wales Bridge was reopened shortly before 17:00 GMT but the M48 Severn Bridge remained closed.

Several other major roads, including the A417 between Gloucester and Cirencester have also been closed. The route is shut from the Air Balloon roundabout to the Cotswold town.

On the M5 northbound a lorry has been blown over onto its side, causing long tailbacks between J23 for Bridgwater and J22 for Burnham-on-Sea.

In Bristol, a fallen tree has blocked the road between the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Ashton Court.

Wiltshire Council said it has received more than 140 reports so far of fallen trees or obstructions caused by the storm and in Somerset the number of fallen trees went from 33 to almost 100 within an hour.

Many schools have also been closed across the region.

Avon and Somerset Police are advising people not to travel unless it is an emergency.

Sean Spearing, a group manager at Avon Fire and Rescue Service, told BBC Radio Bristol that anyone calling the emergency services should have a "genuine reason" because they will be "expecting a high demand".

In Minehead, the RNLI has been warning people to stay out of the sea as the coast is battered by the high winds.

A spokesperson said: "Despite the prevailing weather I have seen people surfing at Minehead this morning. I really need to get a warning out against anyone doing this.

"They are not only putting their lives at risk they are potentially jeopardising the lives of those who will be called out to rescue them if things go wrong."

Bristol Airport remains open and operations but airlines have cancelled 22 flights and some flights are experiencing delays.

In anticipation of potential flooding along the River Severn, officers from Tewkesbury Borough Council visited properties in the village of Maisemore in the flood risk area to deliver information and offer advice.

Rest centres were opened at Highnam Community Centre and Down Hatherley Village Hall at 07:00 but are now being stood down.

The council said that the storm arrived later than anticipated so the risk from flooding has been reduced.

Centres have also been set up in the Sharpness Village Hall and Whitminster Village Hall by Stroud District Council, while in the Forest of Dean the Lydney Community Centre and the village hall in Longhope are also being used.

The Environment Agency said 18,000 properties have been protected with the risk of flooding likely to continue into the weekend.

"The public should continue to take extreme caution as ongoing impacts of Storm Eunice have resulted in a storm surge and large waves which could bring potentially severe coastal flooding to parts of the west and south coasts, as well as the tidal rivers Severn and Wye in Gloucestershire.

"Further spells of heavy rain are expected this weekend which will also bring the potential for inland flooding," said flood duty manager Stefan Laeger.

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