Properties remain without power after Storm Goretti

More than 22,000 people are still without power in Cornwall following Storm Goretti which battered the county on Thursday and Friday.

Communities have been rallying together after a rare red weather warning for wind was issued on Thursday, with a further yellow warning for wind for Devon and Cornwall on Friday.

At one point, more than 47,000 homes in Cornwall were without power and thousands of homes were without running water due to power outages at a water treatment works.

On Saturday, National Grid said more than 21,400 customers were still without power in Cornwall as of 18:00 GMT. South West Water (SWW) said about 11,500 properties in the Helston and Mount's Bay areas were without water.

Sam Bottomley, from SWW, said it had been a "challenging period".

On Saturday afternoon he said the firm had restored water supplies to at least half of its customers.

He said SWW had given out more than 50,000 bottles of water so far to customers at three bottled water stations at the old Flambards car park in Helston, the Folly Field car park in Marazion and at Mullion School.

Teams had delivered almost 2,000 bottles of water to those on its priority register, and would continue to do so daily, he added.

Bottomley said: "We're really sorry some customers have been without water since Friday.

"This issue was caused by Storm Goretti, which led to a power outage at our Wendron water treatment works.

"We will continue to do everything we can, throughout the weekend, to restore supplies to those still waiting."

Bottomley said: "It will take a considerable amount of time to fully refill the whole of the network and bleed out the air locks."

SWW said customers may notice water was "discoloured" as it was being brought back into supply which was "normal".

Customers are being advised to run the water from the cold kitchen tap until it clears, which could take up to an hour.

Mr Bottomley added: "We are trying to locate other sites across the region in Cornwall down towards the Lizard to support people.

"The difficulty we've had is some of the sites we had earmarked in the past to use for bottled water stations have suffered damage."

Emma Pamplin, director of customer excellence at the National Grid, said staff were getting in touch with the most vulnerable customers on the priority services register to check they were "safe and well, and offering additional support where needed".

"Our welfare vans provide comfort and care in the most impacted communities, because we know that restoring power is only part of the support our customers need."

"Storms can be unsettling, and we're here to keep our customers safe, informed and supported every step of the way."

Cornwall Council said its highway teams had cleared more than 550 reports of fallen trees and other highway damage over the last 24 hours.

It said: "Clearance will be continuing over the weekend, prioritising high traffic areas and urgent community issues.

"Thank you for the overwhelming community support and understanding we have experienced so far.

"We ask that you continue to be patient and support our teams to complete this vital job."

At about 13:30 GMT, the council added its highways team was responding to about 600 incidents across Cornwall and advised people not to attempt to clear large debris.

"Crews are working around the clock to clear roads and make highways safe.

"Please do not attempt to clear large debris yourself, as there may be hidden risks such as unstable trees or fallen power lines."

Devon and Cornwall Police said on Saturday a man in his 50s died after a tree fell onto his caravan on Thursday during the storm.

Residents were displaced, schools closed or start times delayed and businesses and properties were damaged.

In Falmouth, a mum and her two children had a lucky escape after a tree crashed through their roof.

Emily Hitchkiss and her two young children were at home as Storm Goretti hit.

She said if her children had remained upstairs or been asleep when that tree came down, she feared they would have died.

Hitchkiss said: "There was smashing glass and a great big tree just came through the front of the house.

"It was seconds really from impaling me and my children.

"My little boy was petrified, there was bits of wood flying everywhere, smashing glass."

The village of Malpas in Cornwall was cut off overnight after a 93-year-old tree came down.

The Heron Inn said a team of villagers with chainsaws took it upon themselves to deal with the tree in daylight hours when the storm had passed.

On Saturday morning, Paul Gentleman from Great Western Railway (GWR) said rail replacement services were in place between Truro to Falmouth and St Austell to Newquay.

Gentleman said: "I can't remember anything as bad as this."

Amy Hall, from the National Welfare Trust (NAWT) in Hayle, said she woke up to find lots of debris at the centre but the fence surrounding the exercise area at the back, where they took their dogs, was "completely down".

"We have a tree that's gone into it. There's trees down around the centre and we've had one come down on our storage carriage as well," she said.

"It's been difficult. The main thing we are worried about is the exercise mound for the dogs - that's their enrichment space and a safe space."

There were severe delays on the train lines into and out of Cornwall, late into Thursday and throughout Friday.

Very few trains ran, with a route-proving train leaving Penzance, equipped with chainsaw cutting crews on board who got off when they came across debris, cleared it and then inspected the track.

The education system was heavily impacted, with hundreds of schools and colleges in Cornwall closed due to the storm and its aftermath.

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