A man has died after becoming trapped in his car in rising flood water as heavy rain and gale-force winds continued to batter parts of Britain.
The victim’s vehicle became wedged under a bridge at 8.50pm Thursday near a ford at Rectory Fields, Chew Stoke in Somerset in the southwest.
The man was pulled out of the vehicle and treated by paramedics but declared dead on the way to hospital.
Police have not yet identified the driver or his next of kin.
A night of torrential downpours left thousands of homes without power, while more than 100 people were evacuated as winds reached more than 86 miles per hour.
The Environment Agency issued flood warnings for 88 areas across the country Friday. It expects flooding in 44 locations in the southwest, 27 in the Midlands and 13 in the east of the country.
Flood alerts, meaning that flooding is possible, are in place for another 206 areas.
The miserable weather which has caused chaos in the southwest and Wales is expected to continue through the weekend.
The Met Office said some areas saw up to 60mm (5 inches) of rain fall during the day Thursday, causing further river and surface water flooding.
The highest winds were recorded at Capel Curig in Wales, gusting over 80 miles per hour, but much of the country experienced storm-force winds between 60-70 miles per hour overnight.
Driver dies as floods batter southwest
