Storm Arwen: Thousands spend fourth night without power after 100mph winds wreak havoc

Homes still without power after first named storm of season wreaks havoc across UK

The damage caused by Storm Arwen is still being felt in some parts of the country where people have been left without power for four consecutive nights.

The first named storm of the season wreaked havoc in northern England and Scotland over the weekend, bringing snow and winds of nearly 100mph, felling trees and damaging buildings.

Three people lost their lives as gales swept through the country, also hitting northwest England, Northern Ireland, the Midlands and parts of the south.

Northeast Scotland remains the worst-hit area, with police there declaring a major incident due to the widespread disruption caused by strong gales.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said on Monday night that it remains at "red alert status for its north of Scotland electricity network as teams continue to respond to widespread and extensive damage to its network".

The firm said power has been restored to more than 103,000 customers since around lunchtime on Friday but some 17,000 households are still not connected to power.

The figure includes customers in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus and Perthshire and SEEN warned some of those still might now have power by tomorrow.

Mark Rough, director of customer operations at SSEN, said the firm is prioritising support for vulnerable customers.

He said: “We continue to make good progress following the extensive network damage caused by Storm Arwen, with additional teams assisting with restoration efforts and major connections made to locations such as Ballater and Braemar.

“Our engineers are still experiencing challenging conditions and multiple faults on individual circuits, with complex repairs underway that will take longer than normal. The extent of the damage is also hampering the ability to re-route the network to restore supply."

Mr Rough added: “We recognise that another day without power brings additional concern to those affected, and I’d like to apologise to all customers for the ongoing disruption and assure them that we are doing all we can to restore power. All available resources are being focused on this effort."

The Met Office issued several weather warnings as Storm Arwen approached on Friday, including a rare alert for wind. Amber and yellow weather warnings were in place across large parts of the country late on Saturday.

Some regions of England and Scotland saw snow and the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for ice in both countries.

A man from Lancaster died after a tree fell on him in the Lake District town of Ambleside, Cumbria Police said.

Another man, from Antrim in Northern Ireland was killed on Friday when a falling tree hit his car. Another, from Aberdeenshire, died in the same way at around 6pm on Friday.