Storm Arwen: Dark Hedges trees brought down by strong winds

More of the trees made famous by TV fantasy drama Game of Thrones have fallen as Storm Arwen brought gale force winds across Northern Ireland.

The Dark Hedges, a tunnel of beech trees on the Bregagh Road near Armoy, became a popular tourist attraction after featuring in the series.

In 2017 traffic was banned from part of of the road to protect them, but one campaigner said more needs to be done.

A yellow weather warning for strong winds in NI ended at 18:00 GMT.

Bob McCallion from the group Save the Dark Hedges said the wind caused two trees to fall in the early hours of Saturday morning.

So far the strongest gust recorded by the Met Office in Northern Ireland during the storm was 87mph (140km/h) at Orlock Head in County Down early on Saturday morning.

Throughout Friday and overnight, trees fell across Northern Ireland and power cuts left some homes without electricity.

Francis Lagan, headteacher of St Mary's Primary School in Maghera, was killed when a tree fell on his car during the Storm on Friday afternoon.

In Londonderry a driver sustained minor injuries after his car was struck by a tree along Letterkenny Road.

The Department for Infrastructure said its workers had dealt with more than 130 weather-related incidents affecting the road network since 21:00 on Friday.

Staff are working at several roads to remove fallen trees, power lines or other obstructions caused by the storm.

Speaking about the Dark Hedges, Bob McCallion said it is a certainty more will be lost in the future.

"As the tree line diminishes and there is less shelter, you will lose them," the campaigner told BBC News NI.

The Dark Hedges are estimated to date back to about 1775, however some of the trees could be up to 300-years-old, according to Mr McCallion.

"The situation of the management of the Dark Hedges and the actual road itself is not what I would consider to be ideal," he said.

Mr McCallion has been campaigning for more protection for the trees for numerous years, but he said progress is "virtually non-existent or very slow".

"We need to have a specialist body that will manage the Dark Hedges and influence some of the other stakeholders like the Road Service and the council to help them protect the trees," he said.

"Because there is nobody in charge you have a situation where it's basically a free-for-all down there."

Mr McCallion added that the 2017 move to ban traffic from the area "hasn't been totally successful".

This is the second time since January 2019 trees at the Dark Hedges have fallen in strong winds.

Some of the trees were also damaged by Storm Hector in June 2018.

Power cuts have affected a number of locations across Northern Ireland.

About 20 areas were without electricity at one point, although no major outages were reported, according to Northern Ireland Electricity Networks.

At one stage on Friday more than 2,400 homes in Larne in County Antrim were left without without power.

Ferry operator P&O cancelled its 08:00 sailing between Larne and Cairnryan in Scotland on Saturday because of the storm but its 12:00 service left as planned.

Stena Line said its ferry services from Belfast to Cairnryan and Belfast to Liverpool in England on Saturday would be delayed due to the weather - details are available on the company's website.

In County Down, the Bangor Aurora Aquatic and Leisure Complex is closed after its roof was damaged, with insulation blown on to the ground.

Alliance Party councillor Connie Egan said Ards and North Down Borough Council, which owns the centre, has arranged for repair work to be done "as soon as possible".

Bookings to use the centre this weekend have been cancelled and the nearby Walled Garden has also been closed.