Homes still without power in aftermath of storm

Nearly 4,000 homes in the West of England are still without power following disruption caused by Storm Darragh.

On Sunday more than 10,000 properties across the region were affected by power cuts as the storm swept across the UK, bringing strong winds and heavy rain throughout the country.

Trees came down, travel was disrupted and events cancelled. Gusts hit more than 90 miles per hour (144km p/h) in areas around the mouth of the river Severn.

Matt Turner, from National Grid, said while power has been restored to the majority of properties, its engineers are working as quickly as they can to help those remaining.

Residents at Edithmead Leisure Park Homes in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, have been without power since the early hours of Saturday.

"They [National Grid] told us that it'd be on by 6pm the next day. And then they updated that again to say 'no, it'll be 6pm on Sunday'," said resident Barry Whitcombe.

Mr Whitcombe added that local reports now suggest things may not return to normal until at least midday on Tuesday.

As of 17:30 GMT on Monday, there were 3,706 properties without power due to Storm Darragh in Bristol and Somerset, National Grid confirmed.

A spokesperson said: "Our regions bore the brunt of the awful conditions caused by Storm Darragh but we have made significant progress restoring power to more than 1.5 million customers since it hit our network.

"We'll be aiming to get the remaining customers off-supply reconnected as quickly as possible and apologise for the ongoing inconvenience they are facing as they wait for power to be restored."

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol on Monday morning, Mr Turner also expressed his gratitude for customers' patience.

"I would like to take the opportunity to thank everybody for their patience as our teams work through the night and will continue to work through today to get people back online," he said.

Across the country, and at the height of the storm, about eight million people were without electricity after the strength of the wind damaged overhead lines and equipment.

Travel Somerset reported an urgent road closure on the A39 at West Quantoxhead on Monday at 15:30 GMT.

A National Grid pole has been damaged and electricity cables are in dangerous proximity to the carriageway.

It said as soon as the repairs are complete the road will be opened to traffic.

Most travel has now returned to normal in the wake of the storm.

The M48 Severn Bridge has reopened in both directions after it was closed over the weekend due to strong winds.

Westbury and Chippenham railway stations have also reopened after damage from the storm, said Great Western Railway.

However, GWR have advised customers to check before they travel, as there may be further travel disruptions in the aftermath of Storm Darragh.

Network Rail teams will continue to carry out track safety inspections and some services may experience delays and cancellations.

A number of flood warnings remain in Gloucestershire in the aftermath of Storm Darragh.

Parts of the River Severn and River Wye are affected by red alerts after the storm brought heavy rain.

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