Tributes have been paid to three people who died in separate weather-related incidents on Friday at the height of Storm Babet. Police named Cheryl Woods, 61, and her daughter Sarha Smith, 40, from Caerphilly, south Wales, who died in a pileup of four cars and an HGV on the M4 in Wiltshire. Peter Pelling, 61, from Arbroath, was swept away in floodwaters in Aberdeenshire; his body was not recovered until Monday.
In a statement released by Wiltshire Police, the family of the two women described Cheryl Woods as a loving mother, doting grandmother, cherished sister and dear friend. They said Sarha Smith, in her mother's footsteps, selflessly devoted herself to her family and leaves behind six daughters.
Peter Pelling's family said he was a very kind, loyal and hardworking man, and expressed heartfelt thanks to the emergency services involved in the challenging rescue effort.
Seven people are thought to have died in flooding and due to poor road conditions since the arrival of Storm Babet, which caused widespread flooding from Scotland to the east Midlands. The Met Office issued yellow weather warnings for parts of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and south-east England on Tuesday, with a small chance of fast-flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life.
