Thousands without power in Scotland as gusts of over 100mph uproot trees and cause widespread transport disruption

At least 25,000 properties in Scotland are without power after a vicious and unexpected battering from gales saw two people in the UK killed by falling trees amid widespread transport disruption.

An unusually strong pattern of low pressure moved in from the Atlantic and hooked up across Northern Ireland and northern England into Scotland, catching trees in new leaf at their most vulnerable.

Northumbria police said an 18-year-old woman was killed when her Renault Clio was crushed by a falling tree at Corbridge. Local people described the strength of gusts, which reached 114mph across the border in Scotland, as fiercer than they had ever seen.

The Corbridge victim was named locally as Emma Newton, who was a sixth former at Queen Elizabeth high school, in Hexham, where students are currently sitting A-level exams. A special assembly was called at the school.

The other victim was a 36-year-old man driving in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, whose car was crushed under a falling tree. Firefighters tried but failed to free him from the wreckage before he died.

Trees also stopped train services on the West Coast main line between England and Scotland near Gretna Green, and on the edge of Belfast. Ferry services were cancelled between Northern Ireland and Stranraer and Cairnryan, in Scotland, and there were delays on the M62, M6 and M66 in the Pennines.

Earlier blustery weather saw three children taken to hospital after an inflatable slide toppled over at a garden show in Kent and coastguards rescued crew on board three yachts racing between Whitby and Scarborough in North Yorkshire.

Scotland's transport minister, Keith Brown, said the country had been battered by weather that was very unusual for May. He said: "It's exceptional, and that's created problems on the roads and the rail network, and for the ferries as well.

"What's made this worse is the very high wind speed and real problems with trees, which are fully leaved and so more likely to be uprooted. It's particularly hard for the railways as their staff have to inspect the lines before allowing travel, making sure there's no debris on the track, and that has been difficult.

"One way they normally do that is by helicopter, which, in itself, has presented some problems. But a lot of work has gone on, and most of the lines have now reopened."

A spokesman for Scottish Hydro Electric said around 20,000 customers in Scotland were without power after engineers worked overnight to reconnect another 10,000. Scottish Power said: "Just under 5,000 customers are off supply today [Tuesday], which is down from a peak of 20,000 yesterday [Monday]. The worst-affected area is Fife, followed by the central belt and Stirlingshire."

Strong winds are continuing in Scotland and much of northern England but are expected to ease off. Forecaster Victoria Kettley of MeteoGroup said: "Winds will pick up for a while, with gusts across Scotland of up to 60mph which won't help efforts to clear trees.

"It was really bad yesterday [Monday] but that depression has cleared north. Winds will still be brisk though and northern England can expect some will see some strong gusts of up to 50mph before things ease in the afternoon."

Michael Dukes of MeteoGroup said: "The high winds that have been battering Scotland, Ireland and the north of England are about as strong as you ever get in late May. They would be noteworthy in midwinter, but for them to occur in late spring is really most unusual. With trees in full leaf, winds of this strength can cause a lot of problems as the trees can be more readily toppled."

Water companies are meanwhile considering higher summer tariffs as much of southern England remains without rainfall and reservoir and groundwater stocks continue to fall. The water regulator Ofwat said that Veolia Water Central, which serves parts of southern England, and South East Water were trying the system, aimed at discouraging excessive watering of gardens or topping-up of swimming and paddling pools.