'We might never know' Storm Goretti's tree toll

The number of trees which came down across Cornwall in Storm Goretti may never be known but it is estimated to be in the thousands, a councillor has said.

Cabinet member for community safety and public health Thalia Marrington said declaring a major incident would not have provided emergency government funding, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A multi-agency debrief is behind held next week to look at how the storm response was handled.

Councillor Loic Rich said the council's environment team could not currently provide an idea of how many trees were lost and added: "We might never know - it's tragic."

Andrew Mitchell, who chairs Cornwall Council's community wellbeing scrutiny committee, said he had never seen so many trees come down in his lifetime.

He told committee members at a meeting on January 15 it was important to replace the trees which were lost.

Conservative James Mustoe said a highways officer told him 2,000 trees had come down by Monday, 12 January.

"I'm sure there are many more that haven't been reported. It was the most significant event they've had to deal with since 1988." he said.

More than100 trees came down on St Michael's Mount alone, with another 100 lost at Truro Golf Club.

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