Electricity North West engineers have restored supplies to 12,000 properties across the region following Storm Emma.

High winds and drifting snow are causing further power cuts with 3,000 properties currently without power mainly in Cumbria and the Peak District.

Engineers are continuing to work in atrocious conditions with access becoming increasingly difficult as the wind is causing snow to drift, blocking roads and bringing down trees.

There remain around 100 separate faults on the network, each requiring teams to attend site to make repairs.

Electricity North West incident manager, Chris Fox said: "Although we've now restored 12,000 properties, we still have 3,000 without electricity due to the atrocious weather. We're doing our best to reach all affected areas but there may be some faults we cannot access before dark.

"In some higher exposed areas we have been able to access however the wind had made it unsafe for our engineers to climb to carry out repairs.

"We are continuing to work with the emergency services to highlight priority areas for restoration. Please get in touch with us if you are without power and stay safe and warm until our engineers can restore power."

When all power cuts have been restored and the incident is over, Electricity North West will proactively notify customers who have been without electricity for more than 12 hours offering goodwill payments for the inconvenience of being without power.

Electricity North West offers extra support to customers through its Priority Services Register. Extra support is available to customers if they require it. 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

To report a power cut please call the national number 105, follow @ElectricityNW on Twitter or Facebook.

*Image- Littleborough, Rochdale- Greater Manchester