Storm Babet: ‘Beloved’ grandmother dies after being swept away in river at Glen Esk – with police naming the victim as Wendy Taylor

•  The incident occured during a red weather warning in Angus on Thursday

A ‘beloved’ grandmother who died after being swept away in a river amid Storm Babet chaos has been named by police. 

57-year-old Wendy Taylor was swept into the river at Water of Lee, in Glen Esk, north of Brechin, Angus, at around 1.45pm on Thursday. 

Emergency services scrambled to the scene but the body of the ‘beloved wife, best friend and soulmate… mother and granny’ was recovered by officers around two hours later. 

The incident occurred during a red weather warning in the area, as Storm Babet battered the north-east, with several homes in the Brechin area being evacuated. 

Speaking via Police Scotland today, Wendy’s devastated family said: ‘We are absolutely heartbroken to lose Wendy in such tragic circumstances and are still struggling to come to terms with it. 

57-year-old Wendy Taylor was swept into the Water of Lee, in Glenesk, north of Brechin, Angus, at around 1.45pm on Thursday

‘Wendy was a beautiful, kind, funny and caring person. She was a ray of sunshine for everyone who was fortunate enough to know her.’ 

The family added: ‘Wendy was the beloved wife, best friend and soulmate in life to George, mother to James, Sally and Susanna and Granny to India and George. 

‘Our family would like to thank Police Scotland for their professionalism and sensitivity in recent days. 

‘And in particular Paul Morgan of Police Mountain Rescue for recovering Wendy. Thank you to all of our extended family and friends for supporting us through this indescribably difficult time.’ 

It’s understood that Wendy, a director of the Taylor Snacks group, formally Mackie’s Crisps, was enjoying a luxury holiday at Invermark Estate when she was swept away during the storm 

She was married to George, the owner of the snacks firm, joining the Taylor family who  are well known in the Perthshire area and have farmed in the Errol area for around 100 years. 

On Thursday, 20 miles away and hours later, Storm Babet claimed its second victim after a 56-year-old man was killed by a falling tree in an area of Scotland currently subject to a red ‘danger to life’ weather warning.

Police confirmed that the man was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on the B9127 at Whigstreet near Forfar, Angus.

Babet has wrought chaos across the country, with residents being evacuated from homes and reports of cars and lorries overturning amid dangerous conditions on the roads; motoring groups have warned against making unnecessary journeys.

On Wednesday, the Met Office issued a Red severe weather warning, as Storm Babet was expected to bring ‘exceptional rainfall’ to parts of the east of Scotland, including Brechin, Forfar and Kirriemuir.

A second red warning was in place on Friday for parts of eastern Scotland where we could see a further 70-100 mm of rain, with the highest accumulations over the hills. 

A yellow weather warning for ice has been put in place by the Met Office for most parts of Scotland and some areas in the north of England, alerting drivers that ‘icy patches may cause some disruption to travel on Monday morning’. 

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