Mother tried to comfort daughter, 17, as she lay trapped under fallen tree Tess said she could hear Beth speaking. She wanted our help to get her out. All the neighbours came out to try and help. A farmer came round with his JCB truck to try and lift the tree off the crushed caravan. It was awful. We were trying to console Tess while they tried to get Beth out. I think Tess was trying to talk to Beth, trying to comfort her. There was no power because the electricity had gone off so we couldn't use any power tools. Neighbours were rallying to find a petrol run chainsaw which eventually someone did. But eventually they said Beth had died and there was nothing anyone could do for her. The family had been living caravans while renovation work was taking place to convert an existing barn into their "dream home," although there had been delays with planning permission, neighbours have claimed. Her mother's nearby caravan was untouched by the trail of destruction caused by the storm, which saw winds of up to 100mph sweep through parts of Britain. Local farmer Greg Pickering, 32, was asked by the police to use his JCB truck in rescue efforts, but after pulling the tree from the caravan paramedics were unable to resuscitate Bethany. "Apparently at 7 o'clock this morning she'd been able to speak to her mother from under the tree but there'd been nothing from her since then," he said. Her mum and two brothers were completely devastated, they were inconsolable. There were absolutely horrific scenes. They'd been looking to build their dream home there and were living in the caravans while that was happening but they were having difficulties with getting planning permission. It's all so terribly tragic. Bethany was an upper sixth form pupil at Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School (TWGGS) where teachers described her as "universally respected" and with "everything to look forward to." In a statement, Bethany's school said: "Through her hard work and enthusiasm for sport she will never be forgotten. Her close friends and teachers, as well as the wider school community, will miss her beyond measure, and the school will do all we can to support girls as they struggle to come to terms with Beth's untimely death.  As well as an "extremely well respected" student she was an "outstanding sportswoman" who represented her county and local clubs in Hockey, Cricket and Netball who dedicated much of her time to coaching younger girls, the school said. Another neighbour who had helped in the rescue efforts added: "It's ridiculous that police don't carry chainsaws in rural areas any more, especially when they knew there was going to be a storm. We tried, but there wasn't anything we could do. It's such a tragedy. They were a really lovely family, this whole community will be badly affected for a while. A pink bed remained crushed under the leylandi tree tonight as tables and chairs were strewn nearby. Roads near to the site were flooded and trees had fallen, some onto roads and others onto power lines. Sevenoaks District Council confirmed that the family had planning permission to convert a barn into a mix of residential, office and tourist accommodation and work has been ongoing since 2012.