England storms: Man dies after tree falls on car in Watford

Donal Drohan died when a tree crushed his car in Watford

A driver died when a tree fell on his car during storms which have raged across southern England.

The accident happened at about 06:50 GMT in Lower High Street, Watford. Donal Drohan, 51, from Harrow, north-west London, was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was driving a red Peugeot 207 and was the only person in the vehicle, Hertfordshire Police said.

The road, which was closed for several hours, reopened at about 12:30 GMT.

Donal Drohan, 51, was a father of three and worked for Harrow Council

Gary Sanderson, of East of England Ambulance Service, said there was nothing the emergency services could do to save Mr Drohan, who was originally from Waterford in the Republic of Ireland.

'A loving husband'

In a statement released through police, his family said: "Donal was a loving husband and father of three.

"He was the best husband and father anyone could wish for. You couldn't find anyone who had a bad word to say about him.

"He was very supportive to everybody who knew him and couldn't say no to helping out with anything."

Mr Drohan had worked as an operations manager with the public realm service at Harrow Council for nearly 25 years.

Council leader Susan Hall said: "This is an absolute tragedy and everyone is devastated."

"He was always cheerful, and passionate about his job keeping our streets clean. His council colleagues are finding this very hard to deal with.

"Our thoughts are with Donal's family both here and in Ireland."

Mark Joseph, who was passing when the tree fell on the car, said that he "and a number of others" had tried to help the driver.

"Obviously we tried to assist, trying to get the tree off, but it was impossible," he said.

Mr Joseph said the car had "just sort of crumpled" under the weight of the tree.

"It flattened it completely - the poor chap didn't stand a chance."

Lisa Keane, who runs a cafe close to where the accident happened, said the weather conditions had been "shocking" at the time.