Heavy storms batter England, killing 2 and flooding 800 homes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nov. 25, 2012: A supermarket delivery van ploughs through floodwater in Appleton Roebuck, northern England. (AP)
Heavy rain and strong winds battered areas of Britain over the weekend, killing two people and flooding 800 homes, officials said Sunday.
A 21-year-old woman died and two others were injured when a large spruce tree collapsed in Exeter, near the southwestern coast, late Saturday. The woman was in a small tent to shelter from the storm when the tree fell on it, police said. She later died at a hospital.
The rains caused the most serious problems in southern England. In nearby Cornwall, people had to briefly evacuate their homes as flood waters and torrential rain battered villages.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Cambridgeshire, a man was driving a car when it plunged into a swollen river in a flooded area. The man was pulled from the water, but he died on the way to the hospital.
Hundreds of highways and roads were closed due to the flooding, and several train services were canceled.
Officials said the situation was stabilizing in southern England, but weather forecasters said persistent rain would continue in the north of England and Scotland on Sunday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Prime Minister David Cameron pledged that all flood victims would get the help they needed.