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Chronicle Live
National
James Robinson

Power expected to be restored today in rural Northumberland village battered by Storm Dudley

A rural Northumberland village has been left without power once again after yet another storm battered the North East.

Villagers in Kielder have already suffered power cuts this winter following Storm Arwen in November and Storm Malik in January.

And supply to the village was lost once more following the latest named storm - with more bad weather forecast with the arrival of Storm Eunice.

Read more: Go here for more Northumberland news and updates from Northumberland Live

However, Northern Powergrid has reacted quickly and supply is expected to be restored to the village later today.

Cllr John Riddle, who represents the Bellingham ward on Northumberland County Council, had received an update from the electricity company.

Councillor John Riddle (Handout)

He said: "My understanding is that Northern Powergrid has 268 properties across Northumberland off power.

"Twenty-eight were on their priority list. They've said that they expect to have all the power back on today.

"It's much better than the response to Storm Arwen. Dudley wasn't as bad but it was still pretty windy.

"Part of the problem now is that some of the repairs they did last time were temporary, and you might question the resilience of the temporary repairs - they won't be as sustainably as the original - but they are working their way through it."

As of 11am, Northern Powergrid were reporting that 160 homes in the Kielder area remained without power, with power estimated to be restored by 4pm.

Another 20 homes are also off in the Kirkharle area, with the company estimating power will be restored at 2pm.

Forestry England has also closed Kielder Forest, blocking public access until Saturday due to safety fears.

It comes after thousands of trees in the vast forest were felled during Storm Arwen.

Power lines downed by trees in Northumberland during Storm Arwen (PA)

A spokesman for Forestry England said: "Kielder Forest area is closed from 3pm on February 16 until Saturday, February 19 for public access.

"Due to storm Dudley followed by Storm Eunice and expected damage in the forest, we advise no access into Kielder Forest until Saturday.

"This is to safeguard visitors and also allow our crews to start checking for access safety.

"Please note we may go offline if locally there is a loss of electricity to the North Tyne area.

"Our crews will be dealing with emergency access work as a priority in the coming days so please be patient for information during this time on access.

"We do hope these storms lose energy and the area is not affected and we can welcome visitors back quickly."

The power cuts have forced the closure of the village's primary school, while other businesses have also shut up shop.

Cycle rental shop The Bike Place closed its doors due to a combination of no power and the closed forest.

A statement issued on social media read: "NOT AGAIN! Due to the fact that our electricity is off at Kielder Cycle Centre, and also with the storms on the way, Forestry England are closing the site this Thursday and Friday, we will also be CLOSED."

"Open again as usual 9.30am Saturday."

While the impact of Storm Dudley was not on the same scale as Storm Arwen, the region is now bracing itself for the arrival of Storm Eunice with further weather warnings in place for this evening.

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