Bid to restore power after snowfall

A family walk in the snow in the Brecon Beacons, south Wales, as freezing gales and snow brought Britain's early summer to an abrupt end
5 April 2012

Spotter helicopters are combing the countryside to find snow-damaged power lines which have left hundreds cut off.

More than 1,000 homes remain without power after wintry storms felled overhead electricity cables. Engineers have been working round the clock to repair damage caused by gales, ice and snow which brought major disruption to many parts of the country.

Snow plough drivers are clearing blocked roads as deep snow on higher ground begins to thaw.

But meteorologists have warned people to prepare for further sub-zero temperatures ahead.

Gemma Plumb, forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said Thursday would see highs of just seven to 10C, and that temperatures were set to plummet overnight.

She said: "Tomorrow (Friday) night temperatures will drop to -3C and -4C in the Midlands, East Anglia, southern England and Wales. It will feel particularly cold across central and southern England and Wales with a brisk north-easterly wind during the morning. It will be less cold further north."

On Wednesday night, the mercury plunged to -7C in Braemar in Aberdeenshire, while Ravensworth in North Yorkshire saw a temperature of -4C and Crosby in Merseyside felt the cold with a temperature of -1C.

Engineers have restored the power to approximately 78,000 properties in the North East and Yorkshire since power cuts struck on Tuesday night. The number of properties still without power now stands at 1,700, a Northern Powergrid spokesman said.

Spotter helicopters are searching the North Yorkshire Moors and parts of County Durham to find the remaining damaged lines.

A spokesman said: "Engineers are on site throughout the area and the spotter helicopter is being deployed once again to help locate the damaged overhead power lines. We would like to apologise to those customers still experiencing power supply problems and to reassure them our engineers are working as hard as possible to restore supplies as soon as possible."

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