Storm Darragh clear-up could take weeks - council

Clearing up after Storm Darragh is going to take several weeks, councils have warned, after severe weather brought down trees and damaged buildings.

Sandwell Council said staff were working tirelessly to deal with a "trail of destruction" and praised a worker who had helped remove a tree that had landed on a bungalow.

It comes as local authorities across the West Midlands have been dealing with a reports of fallen trees, damage to infrastructure, debris and flooding.

Storm Darragh last weekend came about two weeks after Storm Bert, which had a similar effect in some areas of the UK.

Typical of the situation faced by many highways teams on 7 December, Sandwell Council team manager Matt Gardner described how a large tree had fallen on a bungalow at Tipton.

He said a member of the team was deployed quickly and immediately saw the danger posed, particularly the risk to people's safety and potential for further damage.

Mr Gardner said the worker got to work "cutting the tree down section by section", handling branches and pieces carefully to stop further risk of collapse or falling debris.

Specialist equipment was then used to remove the fallen tree.

Other organisations have also been clearing up after the storm, including Warley Woods Community Trust in Smethwick, which has appealed for help with the cost of tackling the damage.

The community trust said that the woods were hit hard and it had lost one of its "iconic oak trees", while the extent and size of some of the fallen branches meant outside help was needed and was set to cost thousands

The West Midlands Canal & River Trust said about 400 trees had come down across 500 miles of canals in the region. It estimated the damage to the 250-year-old canal network at over £100,000.

Councils across the region, including in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire, said the storm had left roads impassable, caused flooding and power cuts as well as damaged buildings.

Staffordshire County Council released photos to show the scale of the challenges its highways teams faced. It said scores of trees had to be cleared from across roads ranging from country lanes to dual carriageways.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council said waste teams had been unable to collect bins on some roads because they were blocked by trees.

The City of Wolverhampton Council, with more than 100 incidents, said the full clear up would "take some time", while Telford & Wrekin Council said the storm brought down almost 90 trees and it was removing debris in order of severity.

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