Electricity North West has restored power to 72,000 properties, but thousands could be off overnight following damage to the power network caused by Storm Arwen.

Incident Manager, Clive Wilkinson said: “We know how tough this is for customers. Our engineers have been out in these conditions trying to work since Friday and are doing absolutely all they can.

“We’re continuing to work with emergency services and local authorities and other partners to help people through this major incident and we’re working to get power back on as quickly and safely as possible.”

Despite the engineering effort, the sheer volume of damage caused by the storm means that some properties will remain without power overnight.

Clive Wilkinson added: “Nationally Storm Arwen had caused around a million customers to lose power at some point since Friday. In the North West we still have 16,000 off, but are continuing to work to get everyone back on.

“We’ve cancelled all planned work Monday to Friday next week so we can focus on repairs. Customers have been very understanding so far as they know the massive impact that we are dealing with. We know it is difficult and we will get to you so please keep warm and keep checking on neighbours until we can restore power.

“If you see any damaged electricity equipment stay away and report it on 105 as soon as you can to help us continue to prioritise repairs.”