Northern Powergrid tells those hit by cuts after Storm Arwen 'the power will be back on' on Tuesday

People left without electricity following Storm Arwen have been told the power should be back on in all homes in the next day.

Northern Powergrid said they hoped to reconnect the last 700 affected homes and businesses on Tuesday - providing any additional damage they find is small.

In a statement on Sunday, December 5, the power company said it was doing everything possible to reconnect its customers left cut off by Storm Arwen more than a week ago.

But on Tuesday night, December 6, they warned Storm Barra could hamper restoration efforts.

"We understand how challenging it is for our customers who are still without power at this time and we’re sorry for the difficulty and disruption this has caused to their lives," the statement read.

"Our dedicated teams will not stop until we have restored power to every customer who has been affected by Storm Arwen."

Despite challenging weather conditions, the company said it had reduced the number of those without power in Weardale and Teesdale to fewer than 50, with the last customers in the area expected to be reconnected on Sunday.

More than 260 generators have been deployed across the North East as temporary fixes while teams work to rebuild the overhead lines damaged by high winds.

Generators on larger lorry-delivered units are being used to serve villages or community centres, and smaller ‘suitcase’ size generators are being used to give short-term support to the homes of the most vulnerable people.

Speaking to ITV News Tyne Tees on Sunday in High Force, County Durham, Northern Powergrid chief executive Phil Jones said the company had faced the unprecedented challenge of rebuilding a large part of the network in the North East since Storm Arwen struck nearly ten days ago.

Phil Jones, chief executive, Northern Powergrid

He said lessons would be learned, adding: "There are people who have suffered terribly over a very long time and we can't accept that... we will find ways to do this better.

"But I just want people to understand this has been an unbelievable, not just effort, but unbelievable performance on the part of all the companies."