Fierce storms leave floods and trail of damage with 2in of rain in 24hrs

By [tbevan]

STORMS battered Devon over the weekend, flooding homes, felling trees and blowing away roofs.

Gales reached 70mph in the Exeter area and up to two inches of rain fell in 24 hours.

The worst of the problems were on Friday night and Saturday morning. It was labelled one of the fiercest storms of the year and caused widespread devastation in the region.

The weather began to clear on Saturday afternoon, but forecasters from the Exeter-based Met Office have warned there is a "moderate risk" of more severe weather today, which could see a further 15-25mm of rainfall on already saturated ground, with gusts up to 50mph.

The clear-up was continuing this morning after trees were left blocking roads and, in some cases, crashing into homes.

One victim of the weather was Norman Froggett, 71, of Pathfinders Village, who was caught up after visiting his neighbours at around 7pm on Friday to check if they had candles and torches in case of a power cut.

He said: "I walked underneath the car port and into my shed when all of a sudden I head an almighty bang.

"A large oak tree had gone through the roof of my car and trapped me in the shed.

"I could not get out so called my wife on the mobile and a neighbour managed to pull some of the branches away so I could squeeze through the door. My Toyota Yaris is only a year old but looks like it is going to be a write-off."

It was around this time that the worst of the storm began to bite.

Just after 7pm fire crews were called by police after a Christmas decoration cable had become detached from a building in Fore Street, causing a large amount of masonry to fall to the ground. The area was cordoned off to wait for a structural engineer from Exeter City Council to attend. The overhead decorations were removed by firefighters.

A witness said: "People were clustered around waiting for the Rhod Gilbert gig. Some were actually in the shop front below where the masonry fell. It was a close thing all round."

Around half an hour later a silver birch tree fell onto the roof of a home in the Silver Birch Close, Burnthouse Lane.

At the same time a roof was blown off a bungalow at Venny Tedburn, near Crediton, leading to water entering the property which was affecting the electricity supply. Fire crews helped the occupants make the property safe. Several other roofs were blown off properties throughout the night including one at Summerway in Whipton.

One of the worst affected areas was in Axminster, with several properties in Musbury Road being flooded.

Fire crews spent several hours trying to pump out the water and remained there until the early hours of Saturday morning.

Staff from Devon County Council worked through the night with around 60 members of the highways team responding to incidents.

A number of collisions were reported on the roads, including drivers hitting fallen trees and getting stuck in floods.

Rivers including the Axe and Otter flooded and several roads were blocked due to floodwater, including the A358 at Weycroft Mill and the A3052 at Colyford.

Other routes closed due to the weather included the B3192 at Ashcombe, B3176 at Bulverton, Sidmouth, A377 at Crediton, A380 at Ideford Dip, A375 at Sidbury, A3052 at the Cat and Fiddle, A377 near Morchard Road, B3178 in the Bicton area, B3180 at the Halfway Inn, A379 at Kingswear and the A373 at Keepers Cottage.

There was no respite on Saturday morning.

Emergency services were called to the Odeon Cinema in Sidwell Street just before 10am after part of the roof was hanging off over the pavement, causing a danger to the public. They also attended Brownless in Exminster around the same time to reports of dangerous roof tiles.

Thousands of homes across the Westcountry were affected by power cuts on Saturday morning but most were short lived.

On the coast, a big swell developed on Saturday afternoon at high tide, with spray blowing onshore.

It was particularly severe at Seaton and roads around Exmouth were left looking like an extension of the beach as sand blew everywhere in the high winds.

But it was not all doom and gloom. Windsurfers took advantage of the conditions on the River Axe in Seaton and off the beach at Exmouth.

Met Office forecaster Andrew Sibley said: "Autumn has well and truly arrived and there will be continued unsettled weather through the rest of the week. I don't think we will get the rainfall and gusts as high as we saw this weekend. We've seen the worst of it."