Storm Barra: Strong winds hit England amid weather warning

A yellow weather warning remains in place across England for gale-force winds caused by Storm Barra.

The Met Office lifted a previous alert for snow on Tuesday, although this remains in parts of Scotland.

Train services have been disrupted, buildings damaged and trees felled by the winds.

Northern Powergrid spent Tuesday in a “last push” to reconnect 500 homes in the North East left without power after Storm Arwen, which hit 11 days ago.

By 18:00 GMT the electricity company said 360 were still without power.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said better resilience against extreme storms was needed in the future.

"It's likely to happen again, we have got to make sure that we protect people against it," he said.

Mr Johnson added that power supply companies must "make sure that we have better resilience against storms of this kind".

He stated that Northern Powergrid's explanation that high winds and frozen equipment had caused delays was "no consolation to thousands of people who have been without power".

Storm Barra was not expected to be as severe as Storm Arwen, with the peak of the winds likely to hit by Tuesday evening and set to ease overnight.

Areas along the Irish Sea were warned they could see wind speeds of up to 70mph with gusts of 40mph and 50mph in other parts.

The Environment Agency issued a warning for people to avoid beaches, promenades and coastal footpaths as strong onshore winds, large waves and spray "can be dangerous".

Some short-term loss of power and other services is possible, the Met Office warned.

Train operator LNER warned passengers speed restrictions would be in place for part of its route through the North East and Scotland, with alterations to a number of services on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Further south, with strong winds and heavy rain forecast across the South Western Railway network, a blanket 50mph speed restriction has been imposed in areas expected to be worst affected, amid concerns about trees or other debris being blown on to the tracks.

Ferries to and from the Isle of Wight were also cancelled.

North West Ambulance Service said a man and woman were taken to hospital when a tree reportedly fell on them at Fitz Park in Keswick, Cumbria.

In Manchester, an indoor ski centre closed after its roof was partly ripped off due to strong winds, and in the south-west of England a broken-down train and Storm Barra caused delays on rail lines.

The storm caused TV signals from the temporary Bilsdale mast in North Yorkshire to cut out for almost an hour, before it was restored at 14:50 GMT.

Operator Arqiva said the storm meant "ice formed quickly" and as a result, a safety measure to protect antennae on the temporary mast was tripped, which then caused the loss of service.

The company said those affected should not retune their sets and advised that "with high winds and sleet on the moor top our team of engineers remain vigilant near the site and is monitoring the situation closely".

Troops are expected to stay in County Durham for another two days after the Ministry of Defence agreed to a request from Durham County Council to extend the arrangement.

About 100 Army personnel were drafted into County Durham on Friday and about 80 to Northumberland to support people without power.

Sheila Trafford, whose roof of her Morpeth home came down in Storm Arwen, bringing down power cables with it, said she was not feeling optimistic about getting reconnected.

"They rang me last Tuesday to say it would be on by 4pm, then they rang a couple of days later to say it would be on by midnight," she said.

"Nothing has happened and I can't believe any of that because no-one has even been down to have a look. It gets worse rather than better."

Power was restored late on Monday to the village of Howick Hall, near Alnwick, Northumberland, where Jude Leitch runs the Old Rectory Howick bed and breakfast.

She told BBC Radio Newcastle villagers might have made different arrangements if they had known the power would be off for so long.

"That has been the biggest problem for us, the lack of communication," she said.

"If we had been told it would be a week or so, we could have possibly gone out to buy a generator to at least charge things up.

"Instead we have been going day by day expecting the power to be on every morning."

Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council, said he had spoken to the prime minister over the weekend and called for an inquiry into why some areas had still not had power reconnected after more than a week.

"We have been sitting in our cars trying to keep warm and to charge our phones - I can tell you it is absolutely miserable," he told BBC Breakfast.

"If anyone wants to know what it is like, try going without using any power, without laundry, without being able to have a shower for five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 nights. It is simply unacceptable in 2021.

"What we need to have out of this is an inquiry that will establish the issues and will challenge [Northern] Powergrid to ensure the people I represent will never have to go through this again."

Northern Powergrid elevated its alert status in the face of Storm Barra and said it had taken action to ensure its teams are ready, should the weather affect its network and disrupt customers.

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