Cops name Kinver dad killed by uprooted tree during Midland storms

Feb 6 2011 by Paul Suart, Sunday Mercury

POLICE last night named a motorist who died when a tree fell and crushed his car during storms which have battered the Midlands.

Steve Cutler, 51, was killed when the tree was uprooted by 50mph winds and smashed onto his Mercedes Vaneo.

The dad-of-two was travelling on the Bridgnorth Road, near Stourbridge in Worcestershire, when the tragedy happened late on Thursday night as the region faced near gale-force winds.

Tool worker Mr Cutler, from Kinver, leaves wife Alison and two sons, Alex and Jack, who were both in their 20s.

The stormy weather continued yesterday and weather forecasters have predicted more black skies today.

Part of the roof of a library in Dickens Heath, near Solihull, was ripped off by the fierce gusts in the early hours of Saturday.

And in Leicester a one year-old baby girl had a lucky escape when her pushchair was blown into a river as she fed ducks with her mum – who rescued her from the water.

Met Office forecaster Tim Thorne said: “The winds experienced in the West Midlands have been south-westerly and have reached up to 50mph.

“The strong winds are expected to remain at similar values today.”

Residents in Dickens Heath were evacuated by police when bricks and mortar from the nearby library roof became loose and smashed onto the pavement below.

Police and officers from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, which leases the library, closed the surrounding roads.