Engineers from Electricity North West have restored power to 21,000 properties today in Cumbria and north Lancashire in the wake of Storm Ali.

The region’s power network operator has repaired damage at around 50 separate locations where flying debris and falling trees have damaged overhead power lines affected throughout the day.

Despite efforts, around 3,000 properties remain without power and many of these could be off overnight, particularly in rural areas.

Electricity North West has sent food vans to the worst affected areas in Silloth and Penruddock in Cumbria, with two vans arriving this evening. The vans will be providing free hot food and drinks to people affected by the power cuts.

Chris Fox, incident manager for Electricity North West, said: “Despite the atrocious conditions up in Cumbria and north Lancashire today I’m pleased to say we’ve restored power to 21,000 properties already today.

“We will continue to work late into the night to get people back on, but we are likely to have some areas still without power until tomorrow. Our people are braving the elements and working in dark and windy conditions and will continue that work into tomorrow.”

Customers should visit www.enwl.co.uk/powercuts for more information, or follow Electricity North West on Facebook or Twitter. Customers can also call Electricity North West on 105 to report power cuts.

If customers see any lines down, or branches or debris hanging from lines, Electricity North West is urging them to stay away and call them as soon as possible on 105.

Electricity North West offers extra support to customers who need it through its Priority Services Register. Customers can register online by visiting www.enwl.co.uk/priority or calling Electricity North West on 105.

For advice on how to be prepared and stay safe please visit www.enwl.co.uk/power-cuts/dealing-with-power-cuts.