Two children seriously hurt as Storm Imogen causes garden wall to collapse

Two children were airlifted to hospital when a wall collapsed on them as hurricane-force winds battered Britain.

The youngsters, a boy and girl aged five and seven, suffered serious leg injuries when the stone garden wall fell on them on Monday morning in the Worcestershire village of Bretforton near Evesham.

Emergency services were called out at 8.55am to the B4035, the main road through the village, and firefighters pulled the pair from the rubble.

Paramedics stabilised them before they were flown to hospital for treatment, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said.

A father and daughter near Exeter in Devon also reportedly had a lucky escape when a 100ft (30.5m) tree was blown onto their car parked outside their house, minutes before they were about to leave to travel to school.

The incidents occurred as 80mph winds from Storm Imogen swept across the UK, leaving a swathe of damage and more than ten thousand homes without power.

Travel was also severely disrupted as gales and heavy rain forced road closures and caused delays to rail services, with airports warning flights may be disrupted.