Clean-up continues in Wiltshire after Storms Eunice and Franklin
Wiltshire Council say they've had a record number of incidents reported
A record number of storm related incidents have been reported to Wiltshire Council over the last few days - with the clean-up excited to carry on for the rest of the week.
The authority tell us that between Friday (18th February), when Storm Eunice hit, and Sunday evening (20th February), as Storm Franklin arrived, they had 814 reports to them.
Another 50 reports also came in yesterday (Monday 21st February).
That was to alert them to trees down and fallen debris.
Teams have been working round the clock, in some still pretty difficult weather conditions over the weekend, to clear roads and make areas safe again.
Wiltshire Council's now put out a thank you to their highways, emergency staff, contractors and others who helped with the effort.
Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said:
“On behalf of myself and the whole of Cabinet, we can’t thank everyone enough for their hard and important work in the most challenging of circumstances and conditions. In terms of the amount of reports we’ve received, this storm is unprecedented, but as a council we were well prepared and responded to as many as we possibly could, ensuring the county wasn’t brought to a standstill.
“Because of our teams’ planning, dedication and hard work, residents of Wiltshire were kept safe and informed, and although the impact of Storm Eunice has certainly been felt, we hope we helped made this really difficult time that little bit easier.
“The hard work doesn’t stop though, so during the week our teams will be out throughout the county continuing with the clear-up, and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we do this.
“I urge everyone to continue to keep safe while the weather and conditions remain challenging.”
We can continue to report trees down or another obstructions on the roads by using the MyWilts website.
Hampshire County Council also say they expect it to take until the end of the week to get all the fallen trees removed and roads cleared.
POWER SUPPLY WORK CONTINUES
Scottish and Southern Electricity has also been working to get supplies restored to all households in South Wiltshire and West Hampshire, some of which have been without power since Friday (18th February).
Alexis Hall from SSEN said it's been tough out there:
"Initially on Friday the winds were so high that our engineers couldn't climb at height to fix a lot of the damage and we had trees obviously blocking routes, that we couldn't get to. While we're not using that as an excuse for people being off power, it has made conditions much more difficult."
The electricity supplier has been sending welfare vans out to support customers with giving them some hot food, drinks and somewhere to charge devices.
That went to Harnham Church Hall, East Knoyle Village Hall and Steeple Langford Parish Hall yesterday afternoon (Monday 21st February).
On the trains, South Western Railway has now removed their warning to avoid travelling: