Storm Arwen: Homes still without power after 'worst damage since 2005'

While the storm is over, the damage it caused will take time to repair, as ITV News Northern Reporter Hannah Miller reports


Around 66,000 homes in the UK are still without power due to Storm Arwen, down from 155,000 homes earlier in the day.

The worst-hit areas are in Scotland and north east England, with engineers drafted in from Northern Ireland and southern England to help repair faults and the "worst damage since 2005."

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said people were still suffering from power cuts on Monday afternoon and described the destruction of electricity lines as the worst seen in Britain in more than 15 years.

It comes as parts of the UK faced the coldest night of the autumn so far, including Shap in Cumbria, north-west England, which the Met Office said recorded the lowest temperature of the season so far at -8.7C.

Bridlington in East Yorkshire, meanwhile, recorded high levels of rainfall, with 14.6mm of rain overnight on Sunday.

Almost 70,000 homes in Cumbria and 40,000 in southern Scotland were affected by power outages.A man was killed by a falling tree in Cumbria on Saturday during strong winds caused by the storm.

Around 30,000 homes in the North East and North Yorkshire have also still not had power restored.

A fallen tree in Norton, Teesside Credit: PA

People who had been stuck in Britain's highest pub managed to finally leave the premises on Monday after being stuck there for three days due to the snow.

Since Storm Arwen battered the UK over the weekend, some 870,000 homes have had their power restored by engineers, the ENA said.

They said they had deployed helicopters and drones to quickly identify the damage and had thousands of engineers working on repairs.

A spokesperson said: “In some areas of the country the damage is some of the worst seen since 2005. Snowfall in some areas is making access very difficult.”

Snow is impacting engineers ability to get to the damaged power lines Credit: PA

Rail services in Wales will be affected this week as trains that ran over debris-littered tracks are repaired, Transport for Wales said.

Several RNLI lifeboats faced “some of the worst conditions” they have ever encountered over the weekend, the charity said.

One crew from Tynemouth battled six-metre waves for 18 hours to rescue six fishermen whose vessel suffered an engine failure 70 miles out to sea.

Britons saw a mix of weather on Sunday, with a range of sunshine, rain, sleet and snow.