The ‘Beast from the East’ has now claimed thirteen lives after a seven-year-old girl died when a car smashed into a bungalow, witnesses said.
The child suffered life-threatening injuries and was declared dead at the scene in Looe, Cornwall, just after 2.30pm on Thursday.
Neighbours living on the road where the young girl was killed described it as ‘extremely dangerous’ and said it was the worst weather the small seaside town had experienced in decades.
Horrified children watched on in terror as the Nissan reportedly crashed into a bungalow in Looe, Cornwall, before hitting the youngster.
The child suffered life-threatening injuries and was declared dead at the scene in Looe, Cornwall, just after 2.30pm on Thursday
The tragedy comes just hours after a 75-year-old woman died by slipping under a car and a 46-year-old man was killed in a separate crash.
A 20-year-old man died was also killed after falling over in the snow and a 70-year-old man passed away shortly after being rescued from icy cliffs.
Paramedics were unable to to revive a man found collapsed on a pavement in freezing temperatures.
The 20-year-old pedestrian was crossing the Nungate Bridge in Haddington, East Lothian this morning when he fell over while the 70-year-old man had been rescued after failing to return home from cliffs in Torquay, Devon.
The third man was found lying on the snowy pavement in Westgate-on-Sea in Kent.
A 20-year-old man has died after he slipped and fell while crossing the Nungate Bridge in Haddington, East Lothian this morning (pictured)
The latest deaths bring the tally of lives claimed by the recent snow storms to 13.
None of the latest victims have been identified by police as of yet.
The young man was crossing the Nungate Bridge when he fell.
Locals, who were also crossing over the pedestrian bridge, rushed over to help the man by resuscitating him – but could only watch on as he turned ‘blue’.
Police and ambulance staff attended the scene and spent around an hour trying to revive the man.
He was given oxygen in an ambulance and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but sadly passed away soon after.
Onlookers took to social media to speak about the tragic incident.
One local, who was at the scene, said: ‘I was there when the man fell. ‘We were trying to keep him warm and had to resuscitate him we left when ambulance came. Very scary, he was blue.
‘I don’t know who he was, just a young lad.’
Another said: ‘He was taken away in an ambulance on oxygen. He was still alive when he was taken away.
‘He is from Nungate, police were dealing with contacting family.’
Another local said: ‘I’m hearing the person has sadly passed away.’
A member of staff from the Waterside Bistro restaurant, next door to the bridge, said today: ‘We had popped out to help with some blankets and I know he was taken away in an ambulance but we didn’t know what happened after that. A lot of local residents were around him.
‘I know the bridge has been quite well salted and shovelled.’
Locals have been sharing various images of Nungate Bridge showing heavy snow surrounding it while the River Tyne below froze over.
A Police Scotland spokesman today said : ‘Police in East Lothian attended at the Nungate Bridge in Haddington at around 10.45am on Friday 2nd March following reports of a man having taken unwell.
A third man has also died in the icy weather after he was discovered by paramedics collapsed on a snowy pavement in Westgate-on-Sea in Kent
‘The 20-year-old was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where he sadly passed away.
‘This death is currently being treated as unexplained but not suspicious and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. ‘
Meanwhile, a 70-year-old man died after he was rescued from cliffs in Torquay, Devon.
A major search was launched in the Babacombe district when the man failed to return home following heavy snow showers across Devon and Cornwall.
He was eventually found and airlifted to Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital by coastguard helicopter.
Westgate-on-Sea has been heavily affected by the snow and the man was the the 13th person to have died because of the Beast from the East
The man, from the Newton Abbot area, was a regular weekly visitor to the area but had not returned home when expected, said a spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency yesterday.
Police said his death is not being treated as suspicious and his next of kin has been informed.
The 13th victim was a man found collapsed on a pavement in the seaside town of Westgate-on-Sea in Kent.
Paramedics battled to save his life today as they attempted to resuscitate the unconscious man.
An ambulance crew spotted the man laying on the snowy pavement but were unable to revive him and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police officers were also called to the scene of the medical emergency.
A South East Coast Ambulance spokesperson said: ‘An ambulance crew came across a person in need of medical attention in Canterbury Road, Westgate at approximately 10am this morning.
‘Further crews attended the scene. Sadly, attempts to resuscitate the person proved unsuccessful and they were pronounced dead at the scene.’
A police spokesman added: ‘Officers attended the scene and provided support for crews from the South East Coast Ambulance Service.’
Britain continues to be plagued by the snowy weather.
On Thursday, a seven-year-old girl died after a car smashed into a bungalow in front of terrified children playing in the snow, witnesses claim.
The child suffered life-threatening injuries and was declared dead at the scene in Looe, Cornwall, just after 2.30pm.
The tragedy came just hours after a 75-year-old woman died by slipping under a car and a 46-year-old man was killed in a separate crash.
Pictured: The road in Looe, Cornwall, taken from Google Street View, where a seven-year-old girl was killed by a car in a ‘weather-related incident’
Neighbours living on the road where the young girl was killed described it as ‘extremely dangerous’ and said it was the worst weather the small seaside town had experienced in decades.
Horrified children watched on in terror as the Nissan reportedly crashed into a bungalow in Looe, Cornwall, before hitting the youngster.
The child has not yet been identified but it is understood a brave plumber, Colin Smith, rushed to help the child and was himself hospitalised with a leg injury.
His father Alan, 71, said: ‘He didn’t see the accident, he was just going down the road. Colin is a father too, he is upset.’
Chief Inspector Adrian Leisk of Devon and Cornwall Police highlighted the tragedy as a warning for motorists to stay off the roads due to the appalling weather.
He said: ‘My thoughts and prayers are with the family. Truly devastating news. ‘Please, please do not venture out on to the roads.’
Other neighbours said the road was virtually impassable due to two days of heavy snow and said it was very dangerous to drive on.
Neighbour Rebecca Butters, said: ‘It is a very close knit community and there are a lot of young children who have been out enjoying the snow.
‘I have seen lots of children up here all afternoon in the snow. The road is pretty bad. No-one can get out their paths and everything is at a standstill.
On Thursday, a 75-year-old woman’s body was found lying underneath this car in the Farlsey area of Leeds. A blue police tent was erected over her body
‘It is terrible to hear what has happened. My thoughts are with the family of the poor little girl.’
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: ‘It happened by a side road, near a row of shops. Apparently a car ended up hitting the bungalow. It is such a tragedy, a tiny little girl. It is distressing when you think about a little girl enjoying the snow, and losing her life.
‘All I’ve seen is police and paramedics walking up and down. I think they did manage to get a 4×4 there eventually.’
The girl was the tenth person to have died in the UK due to weather-related incidents.
The elderly woman, 75, was discovered lying in the snow by a commuter on her way to work in blizzard conditions, as this photo shows
She is said to have been found by a commuter on their way to work and police are appealing for witnesses.
A 46-year-old van driver died after a collision with a lorry on the A34 southbound near Tot Hill services.
Police were called at 7.18am and found the van driver dead and his front seat passenger with ‘life-changing’ injuries. The lorry driver was uninjured.
On Wednesday, a carer who became ill on her way to work was found dead in the snow.
Carer Ms McNeil, who worked for Glasgow firm Cordia Services, was tracked down to Kippen Street in the north of the city using her phone after she did not turn up to work.
She had worked with Cordia for 15 years and was a ‘popular and valued member’ of the team, the company told the Evening Times.
Also on Wednesday, a ‘doting’ grandfather died after having apparently fallen through ice over a frozen lake in Welling, south east London as he tried to rescue his dog.
Stephen Cavanagh, 60, from Bexleyheath, Kent had gone to the park with the pet but residents living close-by say the dog jumped over railings surrounding the lake and into the water.
But they say the owner tried to chase after the dog, slipped and fell on the ice banging his head and fell into the freezing water of the lake after he had jumped over metal railings.
A passer-by raised the alarm and pulled the man from the lake, according to London Fire Brigade.
Emergency services arrived moments later at Danson Lake in Danson Park, Welling, South east London.
An air ambulance was also called to the scene on Wednesday afternoon at 3.55pm.
Mr Cavanagh was rushed to hospital but was later pronounced dead. The family were too upset to talk today. A friend said: ‘The family are in bits.
‘He’s a doting grandfather. The family thought the absolute world of him.’
A police officer at the scene outside the block of flats near to where the woman’s body was discovered today
Neighbours overlooking the scene where the tragedy took place spoke of their horror today.
One local resident, who asked not to be named, said: ‘There were so many ambulances.
‘Then we saw other emergency vehicles arriving, at least five or six fire engines and five first responders enter the park.
‘After that a helicopter landed and we knew something had happened to a person. My brother was one of to be there when the first two policemen arrived.
‘The police arrived very quickly, they rushed to the incident…what I heard from my brother is that the dog went over the railings into the lake and the man tried to get to it, fell and hit his head on the ice.
‘When he did that he lost consciousness and went into the water. I think he must have gone into cardiac arrest, they said when they pulled him out he was blue.
‘They were doing a lot of CPR on him.’
The death is being treated as unexplained at this stage but a report is being prepared for the coroner.
The neighbour said the whole incident lasted about 40 minutes and residents in the area are feeling upset about the tragic incident.
She added: ‘For a man to lose his life at the local park, it is very sad.’
Glen Whiting, 41, a developer who lives opposite the park said: ‘We saw two dogs, a white poodle and what looked like a black pug.
‘He was running across the park and he slipped on the concourse near the boats, he just went in and then the next thing we saw were the emergency vehicles.
‘Lots of them arrived, and the air ambulance, then the guy was taken away and sadly died.
‘My wife recognised him to say hello to, he walks his dog often in the park, but we don’t know who he was.’
A Met Police spokesman said: ‘Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at approximately 3.55pm on Wednesday to reports of a man in the water at Danson Park in Welling.
‘Officers and London’s Air Ambulance attended.
‘The man, believed to be aged in his 60s, was recovered from the water and taken to a south London hospital where he died.
Yesterday, a man in his 60s die after falling through a frozen lake while trying to rescue his dog in Welling, south east London (pictured)
Tearful relatives visited the lake in Danson Park, Welling this afternoon.
One tribute left at the scene said: ‘Words cannot express how sad we all are and how proud we are of all you have done. Miss you and love you.’
The 12-acre (49,000 m²) lake is thought to be relatively shallow around the edges with a maximum depth of around 6ft (2m) in the middle.
The dog was rescued by boat the London Fire Brigade said.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 3.55pm to reports of a person in the water in Danson Park.
‘One man was rescued by a member of the public before the arrival of the fire brigade.’
Firefighters remained on the scene until 4.20pm.
A London Ambulance Spokesman said: ‘We were called at 3.49pm on Wednesday 28 March to an incident at Danson Park.
‘We sent multiple resources to the scene including our Hazardous Area Response Team, ambulance crews, an incident response officer and medics from London’s Air Ambulance. A man was taken as a priority to a major trauma centre.’
The dog was rescued by boat, the London Fire Brigade said.
A passer-by is said to have raised the alarm and pulled the man from the lake, (pictured yesterday) according to the London fire Brigade
In a separate tragedy, a 75-year-old woman found dead underneath a parked car near her home in -6C temperatures.
It is not known how long the elderly woman had been laid there unnoticed, but police said there is nothing to suggest her death is suspicious.
The woman, who was believed to have been confused shortly before her death, lived close to where she was discovered in Farsley, near Leeds.
It came a day after a homeless man, described as a ‘lovely, friendly chap’ by locals, was found dead in his tent.
Scout leader Hazel Newstead told Lincolnshire Live the man was known as Ben. She said: ‘He was living in a tent between a wall and the old church hall near our scout hut.
‘He told us he was 53 and used to be a brickie – he even offered to re-do the brickwork on our building.
‘We used to chat to Ben over the wall. He was happy here.
She added: ‘He had a tent, sleeping bags and quilts, and we gave him tinned food because he said he had something to cook with. He used to hang his sleeping bags between the trees to air them.’
Police confirmed the sudden death near St Swithun’s Church on Tuesday at 8.40am.
And there was another day of chaos on the roads, with three women dying when a Renault Clio collided with a Scania lorry on the A15 in Baston just after 6.15am.
The vehicles were travelling in opposite directions when they collided and officers said it was ‘too early’ to say if the weather was a factor.
John Siddle, from Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, said the lorry driver was ‘unscathed’.
Police said they were still working to inform family members of the deaths.