22 people trapped in forest overnight due to storm

Twenty-two people, including a two-year-old child, were stranded in a forest overnight after Storm Darragh brought down trees and power lines, blocking their exit.

They were trapped in 8,000-acre Dalby Forest near Pickering, North Yorkshire, and some had to spend the night in the cafe at the Forestry England-managed site.

Andy Widdowson, head of recreation in Yorkshire for Forestry England, who co-ordinated the response from Pickering, said it had been a tiring 24 hours but everyone was safe.

He said: "The power was out in the district but everyone had blankets and we broke out our emergency supplies. In the end everyone was fine and we eventually evacuated this morning all safely."

On Saturday afternoon high winds from Storm Darragh led to several trees falling, which blocked all roads to and from the forest.

Nine members of the public and 13 staff were stranded in the forest, which is home to the village of Low Dalby and a visitor centre.

Mr Widdowson said the team enacted its emergency plan, bringing everyone together at a cafe in the village.

All 22 people stayed overnight, some in residents' homes, some in the cafe and others in Forestry England's own accommodation on the site.

Mr Widdowson said: "In situations like this we all work together.

"The residents were super kind in bringing supplies over – even to the point of bringing porridge over this morning, supplying bedding and where possible they opened their doors and welcomed people in, which is utterly amazing and we thank them very much."

The forest and village remained without power on Sunday afternoon and Dalby Forest was closed to visitors as the winds were still very high.

Mr Widdowson said the clean-up operation would begin on Monday.

"We will be starting our emergency clear-up tomorrow to get facilities open as quickly as possible and to ensure our residents can come in and out of the forest safely.

"But I have sent all of the team home now to rest up and to recover and we go again tomorrow morning."

Vicar Ian Robinson – a resident of Low Dalby – runs a bed and breakfast retreat called High Dalby House and Cottages. He said it was still "pretty desperate" in the forest.

He said: "About 17-25 families living in the forest are all without water or power so unable to cook or wash.

"I have a Land Rover, which is how I am able to speak to you because we have no mobile coverage in the forest at the moment either."

Dalby was once part of a royal hunting forest, and the Forestry Commission bought the land in 1919 from the Crown.

There are a number of permanently occupied properties and holiday lets within the forest, including the 12 former forestry workers' cottages in Low Dalby that were built on the site of a work camp in the 1950s.

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