Storm Arwen: Thousands spending third night without power

Thousands of people have spent a third night without power after Storm Arwen left a trail of damage in its wake.

Nearly 40,000 customers were still without electricity in Scotland on Sunday, with large numbers also affected in England and Wales.

Police in north east Scotland have declared a major incident and warned disruption could last several days.

All schools in Aberdeenshire will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday.

In some areas hot food and drinks are being supplied to people, many of whom have been without electricity since Friday afternoon.

Utility companies said they would be offering accommodation for vulnerable customers.

Diesel generators have been distributed to community hospitals and care homes in Aberdeenshire.

NHS Grampian confirmed all its Aberdeenshire vaccination centres would be also closed on Monday.

Water supplies have also been disrupted as falllen trees damaged equipment.

Scottish Water said it had restored supplies to 6,000 properties across the country by Sunday afternoon, but 3,000 were still affected and bottled water was being distributed.

Work is continuing to clear roads and railway lines but ScotRail said some services were still suspended.

A Met Office yellow ice warning is now in place for many parts of the UK until 10:00 on Monday.

In its most recent update Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) - which covers the north of Scotland - said about 32,000 customers were still without supply.

SP Energy Networks - which covers central and southern Scotland - said 6,000 customers were still affected mainly in Dumfries, Fife, the Lothian and the Borders. The company also had 5,000 customers without power in England and Wales.

Mark Rough, director of customer operations at SSEN, said it had been "one of the most significant weather events we have experienced in decades".

An SP Energy Networks spokesman said: "The time it is taking us to get our customers back on is reflective of the number of faults and severity of the damage to the network.

"Where normally we would deal with one or two faults on a line and be able to get a number of customers on we've got several faults on one line and where this is repaired we're only able to restore power to a small handful of customers."

Ch Supt George Macdonald of Police Scotland's north east division confirmed a major incident was declared due to the scale of the power outages and the impact it was having on people.

He said: "It is clear that, despite the best efforts of all involved, some parts of the area could take up to another 36 to 48 hours to recover and get back to normal in terms of power and water supplies, and other essential services.

"Therefore, we will be working hard to get back to normal and officers from Police Scotland are providing additional patrols in areas worst affected."

Ch Supt Macdonald reminded motorists to only travel if it was absolutely necessary and for those who must drive, to take warm clothes, food and water.

Angus Cameron has been without power since fallen trees took down power cables beside his house in Kintore, Aberdeenshire.

He told BBC Scotland: "I don't know if we will be getting power any time soon."

Asked how he is keeping warm, Mr Cameron said: "We are coming to the burger van to get some hot food and, fortunately, we have have electric generator which we are away to switch on and get some heat. We are not as bad as some people."

Meanwhile, tree surgeon Nick Dearden arrived in Kintore from Southampton on Sunday to help with recovery work.

He joked: "We have been told that we expect to see Armageddon."

Over the next week he expects to be kept busy in Aberdeenshire, Inverness and Edinburgh.

Charlie Grant told BBC Scotland he has been without power in the village of Killin, Stirling, since about 23:00 on Friday.

Mr Grant said: "We were watching TV and everything just went black dark.

"We looked out the window and the street lights were out.

"It was not just us, it was everywhere."

Mr Grant, who has relied on his barbeque for cooking, praised the community spirit since the storm hit and said everyone has been looking out for the most vulnerable.

In the Aberdeenshire village of Kemnay a local café took hot drinks, soup and mince pies to a nearby care home.

"The power's been off since four o'clock on Friday," said Andy Hutcheon, manager of Cafe 83.

"Many of the care home residents are our customers and they've been huddled in the reception trying to stay warm. They were delighted to see us."

The café also set up a barbeque outside for any other locals who needed a warming drink or a bite to eat.

"There's no heating and no-one has a phone signal - so it's been pretty dire," he added

BBC Scotland reporter Steven Duff told The Sunday Show problems with mobile phone coverage have left many people isolated and unable to contact their loved ones.

He added: "There is still a lot of WiFi down, mobile phone coverage is down. Nowadays that's a big thing for people. There's been lots of social media chat of people trying to get in touch with relatives.

"I had one tweet today from someone who said they had finally managed to get in touch with their parents in Ballater this morning to tell them that a care centre had been opened there."

Aberdeenshire Council has urged people to stay at home and keep an eye on vulnerable and elderly neighbours.

A spokesman said: "Alongside our partners we are doing all we can to restore power, provide food and water, and clear debris from our roads and anything else that helps our communities through this challenging weather.

"We would urge people to not travel unless their journey is essential. If you are venturing out please check Travel Scotland, make sure you have enough fuel and your mobile phone is charged fully."

Across the UK, three men were killed by falling trees during the storm, which triggered the Met Office's highest red level storm warning.

The 35-year-old driver of a pick-up truck was fatally injured on Friday afternoon in Aberdeenshire, while head teacher Francis Lagan died in Antrim and another man was killed in Cumbria.

Arwen is the first of the Met Office's latest list of named storms this winter.

The last red warning in Scotland was in March 2018 during the storm which was dubbed the Beast from the East.

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