Island community 'outshines itself' after storm

An island community 28 miles off the mainland which was hit hard by Storm Goretti has been hailing the response of local residents. The storm brought winds of 99mph (159km/h) to St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly, as it moved its way across the Atlantic to Cornwall on 8 January, causing widespread damage.

"It has completely changed the landscape of the island, I don't think anyone can remember so much devastation," local tree surgeon Clinton Perry said.

"Windblown trees are the worst because they land where they're blown, the root plate is up, they're resting against other trees and you've got a lot of broken stuff above you.

"Root plates can weight several tonnes. Everything is under tension, split, broken timber which is unpredictable when you're cutting it."

He believes it will take "quite a long time to recover," and other tree surgeons are being flown out expecting to be there for up to eight weeks dealing with Goretti's aftermath.

As well as trees, some buildings have also been damaged.

As the clear-up continues builder Tyrane Van Den Berg said: "The community has outshone itself again.

"I think Scilly is one of those places where when we have moments like these, we all come together and make it happen."

The hurricane-force winds blew a large window in at Tony Dingley's holiday accommodation on the seafront in Hugh Town.

He said: "I doubt there is anybody in St Mary's old enough to remember a storm like that.

"One of our UPVC windows blew in to the room in total, the whole thing and we heard this incredible noise.

"We couldn't get in to that room, we couldn't move the door inwards because of the air pressure.

"When we did get in there, there was a big hole in the wall."

Left with a glass and steel balustrade "swaying in the wind", Dingley was also glad of the sense of togetherness.

"Everybody's looking after each other and that's why it's a nice place to be," he said.

Bryony Lishman owns a guest house in Hugh Town.

She said it had been "definitely the worst storm that we've had in the 24 years I've been in Mincarlo and definitely one of the worst in my lifetime here in this little corner of St Mary's".

She said: "We had slates flying off the front of the house right over the back and just smashing here, there and everywhere really dangerously, it was quite scary."

"So the house has been pretty badly damaged but it's all fixable and it's been amazing - there's still no place I'd rather be because every one just pulls together to fix everything up," she added.

St Mary's is the largest inhabited island in Scilly, with a population of about 1,800.

Its remote location makes the logistical challenge of securing people and kit to clear the debris, and materials to repair properties, sizeable.

Dave Page of Penzance Helicopters said the first flight the day after the storm had ferried National Grid staff and tree surgeons across and subsequent flights had been loaded with chainsaws and climbing kit.

He said: "Since chainsaws are classified as dangerous goods, they have needed to be vented so they've been stacked up for 48 hours to make sure they're safe to travel," he added.

"It's been a challenge but it's an honour to serve the islands," he said.

Tyrane Van Den Berg, who runs a building firm and builders' merchants, said the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group had promised a sailing packed with building materials which had arrived on Wednesday.

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].