Astonishing moment pedestrians blown clean off their feet as they try to battle through Storm Eunice’s 122mph winds
THIS is the astonishing moment pedestrians were blown clean off their feet while trying to battle through Storm Eunice’s 122mph winds.
Britain has today been battered by killer 122mph winds - stronger than the gales of the Great Storm of 1987.
The severe conditions, which sparked two rare red weather warnings, include "danger to life" cautions about the risk of "flying debris".
Today's gales are believed to be the highest ever recorded in England, with only two stronger gusts in Scotland in 1989 and 1986.
Shocking video from today in Croydon, London - where a red weather warning remains in place - shows the true strength of the bluster.
The footage, shot just outside of Boxpark, begins with pedestrians clutching to sign poles while leaves and rubbish swirl around in tornado formation.From behind a tram, a man dressed in high vis appears, with the extreme wind on his back.
The gusts give him one big push and he is catapulted into the air and ends up doing a front flip along the road.
He is left sitting on the road after travelling at least five metres.
Other pedestrians run to his aid, and almost get blown away themselves in the process.
Just as the man is helped up, a second man dressed in a suit appears, running along the road from the same direction.
As he fights the gust on his back, a huge blast of wind blows him away, causing him to trip.
He hits the ground hard and is left lying in the middle of the busy crossroads.
It comes as London Ambulance Service (LAS) confirmed two people had been injured in separate incidents in the capital during the storm.
A man was taken to hospital after being injured by falling debris in Waterloo at around midday.
He was treated at the scene and rushed to hospital "as a priority".
Another man was taken to hospital with a head injury after being struck by a tree in Streatham shortly before 11am.
No further detail was available about either casualty.
Meanwhile a man has been killed after being struck by a falling tree amid the chaos of Storm Eunice.
Police in Ireland confirmed the victim was hit and died as he cleared debris in Co Wexford earlier today as 122mph winds swept across the British and Irish Isles.
The man, in his 60s, had been working with a colleague in Ballythomas this morning when tragedy struck.
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