Tens of thousands still have no power days after storm

Days after Storm Arwen first caused major disruption across the UK, the impacts of the severe weather continued to be keenly felt yesterday, as around 66,000 homes remained without power and the bodies of dead seal pups continued to wash up on Scottish shores.

- ANDY GREGORY

With parts of the country experiencing the coldest night of the season so far – including in Cumbria, which saw a temperature of -8.7C – charities and health authorities urged people to look out for neighbours and elderly relatives. Meanwhile, thousands of engineers toiled – in some cases hampered by snow – to repair what the Energy Networks Association (ENA) described as the worst destruction of electricity lines seen in Britain for 16 years.

Some 870,000 homes have had their power restored so far. But the ENA said engineers were still uncovering “snapped electricity poles, downed wires and other complex faults” yesterday afternoon, at which point 155,000 properties across the UK were still said to be without power. All but two of 61 customers who became trapped at a North Yorkshire pub cut off by snow were finally able to leave yesterday after being stranded for three nights by snowdrifts. Temperatures at the Tan Hill Inn dropped to -7.6C as the group became trapped late on Friday.