Storm Arwen: Army sent in to help 4,000 homes without power

Army is sent in to help more than 4,000 homes who have spent a WEEK without heating or electricity after Storm Arwen wiped out power supplies

  • The Army has been deployed to help thousands of homes still without power a week after Storm Arwen
  • Around 130 troops have been sent to Grampian region of Scotland, where 3,000 homes have no heat or light 
  • Ministers were earlier accused of presiding over a ‘national scandal’ as thousands were left without power 
  • Durham County Council declared major incident, and 13,000 homes in Teesdale are still without

The Army has been deployed to help thousands of people who are still without power a week after Storm Arwen ripped through the country.  

Around 130 troops have been sent to carry out door-to-door checks and offer welfare support in north-east of Scotland, where 1,600 Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) customers remained off supply at 7am this morning.

Soldiers will conduct door-to-door checks on more than 4,000 homes, and provide welfare support for remote communities. Troops are also being sent to the North East of England, which has also suffered damage from stormy weather. 

South of the border, Durham County Council said around 100 servicemen and women will be based in Weardale to help local people. The council declared a major incident, with up to 13,000 properties in areas including Teesdale and Weardale still without power.

Almost a million households have been affected by power cuts over the past week, but electricity has been restored to 960,000 homes, the Government said. 

John Hewitt, from Durham County Council, said there are still up to 5,000 properties without power in the county. Mr Hewitt told Radio 4’s Today Programme that this was ‘still a significant number’ and said he expects military aid to arrive this morning.

Ministers were earlier accused of presiding over a ‘national scandal’ as thousands of homes were forced to endure biting temperatures as low as -6C overnight this week. 

Northern Powergrid, the electricity distribution network operator for the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, said 6,000 customers remained off supply at 11pm on Thursday, though power has been restored to 234,000 others since Storm Arwen swept across the country on Friday November 26.

Jim Savage, chief executive of Aberdeenshire Council, said SSEN told him it hopes to get the number of customers off power down to 1,000 on Friday, though some may not be reconnected until the weekend.

He told BBC Breakfast: ‘It’s been a really tough week for families and communities across all of Aberdeenshire. There has been an amazing effort of support from communities and emergency services here to make sure people are safe as we look to get the power back on as soon as we can.’ 

Soldiers at Gordon Barracks before being deployed to areas in Aberdeenshire still affected by power cuts

More snow is expected to hit Scotland today before moving towards the South East, and rain is predicted for north-western parts. Eastern parts of Scotland are predicted to have highs of 2C (35.6F) while western Scotland could reach 4C (39.2F). Across England there may be highs of 3C (37.4F) and 4C on Thursday, with some sunny spells and cloud later. A band of rain will push towards the South East on Saturday morning then sunny spells along with wintry showers in the West. There will be lots of sunshine on Sunday after early wintry showers in coastal areas

Marines from 45 Commando are seen conducting welfare checks in Lumphanan, Scotland

Marines from 45 Commando are seen conducting welfare checks in Lumphanan, Scotland

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said around 130 troops have been sent to the Grampian region of northern Scotland, where 3,000 homes have no heat or light after 100mph gales caused damage to power lines

Undated handout photo issued by the National Trust of a fallen tree at Wray Castle in the Lake District

Free bottles of water are seen left for residents in Lumphanan, Scotland on December 2, 2021

A tractor tries to help a bus driver after the vehicle came off the road in icy conditions near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

A Government minister was accosted by an angry landlord while visiting a village where 3,000 households are still without power.

Energy minister Greg Hands was confronted by publican Terr Wood on a visit to St John’s Chapel in Weardale, County Durham – which has been without electricity since last Friday after Storm Arwen battered large parts of England and Scotland.

Nearly 20,000 homes across the UK have been without heating for nearly a week after 100mph gales devastated power lines and uprooted thousands of trees. Ministers were earlier accused of presiding over a ‘national scandal’ as thousands of homes were forced to endure biting temperatures as low as -6C overnight. 

Mr Wood, owner of the Blue Bell Inn pub, told Mr Hands: ‘What I expect from my government is for it to say ‘where did it go wrong and how do we know it went wrong?’. He also said that residents don’t believe Durham County Council has done enough to help homes hit by power cuts.

Addressing the energy minister, Mr Wood raged: ‘Your role is the local authorities. You have more say over them than we will ever have. What are they doing? Nothing – we are five days into this.’

The Conservative MP for Chelsea and Fulham insisted that engineers were working hard to reconnect power, with many working 16-hour shifts. 

But Mr Wood said: ‘I don’t want to hear that from you. You’re an MP and I want to hear from you that you are going to go back and – to put it bluntly – kick ass.’

He added: ‘SSEN have got many hundreds of their staff out on the ground and have been going through all of the lines they’ve got and fixing and repairing as they go, and in the meantime many other services are making sure the communities are safe, they’ve got what they need in terms of whatever food and heating and support and accommodation we can provide.

‘I think the really unfortunate thing is we think there’s still going to be people who are going to be off into the weekend, so we continue to ramp up and do whatever more we can do to support people in what has been a very extended period of time with that national infrastructure having gone down.’

SSEN said power has been restored to more than 129,000 customers since Storm Arwen first struck, causing what managing director Chris Burchell described as ‘catastrophic damage to the electricity network’.

The company said properties still without power are mainly located in rural and isolated communities, with Aberdeenshire the main area still affected.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘It was a very, very big storm. We are doing everything we can to help people.

‘There were about 19,000 homes without (power) this morning. We have got that down to about 16,000. That is no consolation for the 16,000 who are still suffering but we are working flat out to help you.’

 around 130 troops have been sent to the Grampian region of northern Scotland, where 3,000 homes have no heat or light after 100mph gales caused damage to power lines. 

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: ‘We are always ready to provide extra support to civil authorities across the UK in their time of need and it’s great to see units based in Scotland supporting their local communities.

‘Our dedicated armed forces will conduct door-to-door checks on people in their homes, providing essential support to those impacted by Storm Arwen.’

In England, Durham County Council said the military help follows a request from County Durham and Darlington Local Resilience Forum (LRF) for additional resources.

John Hewitt, chairman of the LRF’s strategic co-ordinating group, said: ‘We are doing everything we can to support residents who are affected by the disruption to power supplies, from providing emergency supplies to simply checking in to make sure everything is OK.’

He added: ‘We are very grateful to the Ministry of Defence that they have approved our request for support and that we already have troops on the ground helping our communities.’

The council said servicemen and women, based in St John’s Chapel in Weardale, will carry out door-to-door visits to check on residents’ wellbeing and ensure any help and support is provided where needed.

They will also provide updates on work to restore the power supply and gather feedback on any issues of concern.  

Over the past few days, representatives from the council, Durham and County Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, Durham Constabulary, the Mountain Rescue Service, Northumbrian Water and Northern Powergrid have been providing information on the support available, along with bottled water and phone-charging points.

Conservative MP for North West Durham Richard Holden said he had spoken to defence minister James Heappey who had confirmed around 100 troops are being deployed to the area ‘and will be on the ground in north east England from tomorrow’.

More rain, sleet and snow fell in south-western parts of the UK yesterday, while wintry showers have affected the North and East. The Met Office said the showers were confined to Norfolk last night, with gales easing along the North Sea coast.

More snow is expected to hit Scotland today before moving towards the South East, and rain is predicted for north-western parts. 

Marines from 45 Commando are seen conducting welfare checks in Lumphanan, Scotland

Marines from 45 Commando are seen conducting welfare checks in Lumphanan, Scotland

Soldiers at Gordon Barracks before being deployed to areas in Aberdeenshire still affected by power cuts

The Energy Networks Association issued this photograph of a fallen power line in the snow at an unknown location

Eastern parts of Scotland are predicted to have highs of 2C (35.6F) while western Scotland could reach 4C (39.2F). Across England there may be highs of 3C (37.4F) and 4C on Thursday, with some sunny spells and cloud later.

A band of rain will push towards the South East on Saturday morning then sunny spells along with wintry showers in the West. There will be lots of sunshine on Sunday after early wintry showers in coastal areas.

As for a White Christmas, bookmakers Coral said there was a 67 per cent chance of snow falling somewhere in Britain on Christmas Day. 

The Met Office’s advance forecast for the festive season states that the weather is ‘likely to become more settled around Christmas and towards New Year with increased chance of overnight frost and fog during clearer spells’. 

Clare Pennington, from Newtyle in Angus, is facing her sixth day without power and is staying in a static home as she is building a house.

The project manager in sustainability said: ‘It has been as cold inside as it is outside and I’ve had no heating, hot water or light since Friday.

‘(We feel) totally forgotten (about). It was freezing last night, too cold to sleep.

‘It’s really cold and damp and while I’ve not had an asthma attack for years, I can feel my breath getting wheezy as well as a cough. I think what is so frustrating is the continued excuse of (the weather being) unprecedented.

‘It may be unprecedented but it’s been predicted by climate scientists for years and it’s only set to get worse, but our electricity infrastructure is aging and wholly unprepared.’

Labour’s shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon said: ‘Thousands have been left without power for days on end, especially in rural and more remote communities, yet they have been mostly abandoned by the Government.

‘Half-hearted reassurance from ministers hundreds of miles away is completely useless when so many people are unable to cook, charge their phones or store vital medicines properly.

‘The Conservatives need to get their act together and ensure there is resilient infrastructure across the country to stand up to the more severe storms we know are coming in the climate crisis.’

The Energy Networks Association said it aims to reconnect most homes by Friday.

Moment farmer frantically digs sheep out of 10ft snow drift in ‘brutal’ weather after Storm Arwen 

  • Kate and Nev Barker battled blizzard to rescue sheep on their Staffordshire farm 
  • Couple worked for hours to find their missing flock after Storm Arwen struck
  • Three ewes were finally discovered after getting stuck under a 10ft snowdrift 
  • Temperatures plummeted to 24.8F (-4C) as snow and ice followed on weekend

By Jacob Thorburn For MailOnline

Dramatic footage has captured the moment a farming couple were forced to dig their sheep out of a 10ft snowdrift during a snap blizzard caused by Storm Arwen. 

Kate and Nev Barker worked for hours to find their missing flock on Saturday, November 27, after heavy snow hit their farm in Staffordshire farm, near the Peak District. 

They realised three ewes were entombed under the snow and had to act quickly to save them.

Farmers Kate and Nev Barker worked for hours to find their missing sheep on Saturday, November 27, after heavy snow hit their Staffordshire farm near to the Peak District

Dramatic footage captures the moment Nev Barker pulled one of three Herdwick ewes out of a 10ft snowdrift during a snap blizzard caused by Storm Arwen

Temperatures plummeted to around 24.8F (-4C) over the weekend as a thick blanket of snow and ice smothered much of the Midlands and north-western England. 

In the footage, Nev can be seen battling through the ‘brutal’ weather as he desperately digs a hole for a confused sheep to escape through.

He encourages the animal towards him, clapping and shouting: ‘Come on, come on’, but the couple’s efforts appear to be in vain as it remains slumped on the ground. 

After several minutes, the ewe finally emerges. Its ice-encrusted wool indicates it had been trapped under the mountain of snow for several hours.

Kate, 49, and Nev, 48, run a smallholding near Leek, and own 50 sheep which are kept for breeding and wool.

As Storm Arwen rocked northern England at the end of last week, the pair were initially unperturbed about their flock of Herdwicks, which are renowned for being hardy. 

But on Saturday morning they realised that after 10 feet of snow fell during the night, only 37 of their sheep were accounted for.

Nev frantically digs in the snow to free the entombed sheep at the smallholding near Leek

Nev calls ‘Come on, come on’ to the sheep but the couple’s efforts initially appear to be in vain

After the pair woke up on Saturday they realised that after 10 feet of snow fell during the night, only 37 of their prize four-legged possessions were accounted for

After walking around their acreage Nev and Kate became increasingly worried for the missing members of the flock.

‘The access into our fields was just thick with drifts,’ Kate said.

‘We were up to our waists, it was that deep we were just sinking. Panic set in.

‘We clambered over to the sheds and found most of them huddled there.

‘We dug the back of the shed out to gain access, so the flock could get some relief from the elements, and some hay and water. Your instinct just kicks in.’

But some of the flock were still unaccounted for, so the pair used a crook to poke the larger snow drifts (above) looking for their sheep

Nev Barker (pictured) rescues one of his Herdwick flock during the dangerous Storm Arwen conditions

Another group of rams (pictured) – only visible because of their horns poking out the top of the drifts – also had to be dug from a similar situation in a different field

But some were still missing, so the pair used a crook to poke the larger snow drifts looking for their sheep.

They eventually found three ewes entombed in a drift that was more than 10ft high.

Video footage shows Nev digging out the first ewe with his hands, before enticing her out.

It took several minutes before she was brave enough to leave the igloo she had been stuck in.

Two further sheep were huddled behind her and all three were taken to the sheds to recuperate. Amazingly they were all unharmed.

A sheep with snow-encrusted fur is rescued by Nev after getting stuck underneath 10ft high piles of snow caused by Storm Arwen

Conditions did not return to normal until Tuesday, November 30 after Storm Arwen causes 10ft high snowdrifts

Another group of rams – only visible because of their horns poking out the top of the drifts – also had to be dug from a similar situation in a different field.

Nev is a joiner while Kate was formerly a countryside ranger.

Their smallholding is on the edge of the Peak District National Park, where temperatures dropped to 24.8F (-4C) over the weekend.

In fact, things didn’t really thaw until three days later on Tuesday, November 30.

Nev said they treated their sheep like members of the family – and couldn’t bear to see them stuck.

He added: ‘It’s literally like you’ve got your pet dog stuck in the snow, and all you want to do is get them out and make sure they’re ok.’

‘The conditions were brutal,’ Kate added. ‘But amazingly they’re OK and now running around the fields like nothing ever happened.’

Former countryside ranger Kate Barker poses with one of her beloved Herdwick Sheep at the couple’s Staffordshire farm

Nev Barker (pictured) works as a joiner. On Saturday, he crawled on his hands and knees to rescue sheep that had got stuck under a barrage of snow

After walking around their acreage Nev and Kate became increasingly worried for the missing members of the flock. Pictured: A sheep sticks its head out from under a pile of snow

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