Village power and water cut 'isolating' - resident

A restaurant owner in a village which was left without power and water during Storm Darragh has said the experience was "really isolating" for the community.

Water and power supplies were lost in Goathland at about mid-afternoon on Saturday, with electricity not restored until about 22:00 GMT and water remaining cut off until about 16:00 GMT the following day.

Cecily Fearnley, 38, co-owner of the Homestead Kitchen restaurant and holiday cottage, said people felt there was "no contingency plan in place" to help them.

Northern Powergrid said people left without power for over 24 hours had been provided with "support", while Yorkshire Water thanked customers for their "patience and understanding".

Ms Fearnley said that in the 30 years she had lived in Goathland, there had been "the odd power cut", however there had been "nothing this bad" before.

Whenever the power went off, Goathland residents also lost any mobile phone signal, meanwhile landlines with plugs also did not work, she said.

Ms Fearnley, who has owned the restaurant and holiday accommodation with partner Peter Neville for three years, said it was "a scary thought to be completely cut off".

"There are also a lot of elderly people who live alone and may not have mobiles, so it is isolating for the community and village who couldn't use their landlines," she said.

"There seems to be no contingency plan in place for power failures in rural communities such as ours."

Ms Fearnley also said it was "scary having no water and we're worried about being cut off again in the future".

"Having to shut over the weekend was crippling as it is so close to Christmas," the restaurant owner said.

"We had Christmas parties and Sunday lunches booked, so it was a big hit to take financially.

"We should not have been without water that long as we could have reopened sooner if the water was on."

It had been "a really exhausting weekend and we just want to make sure we're not cut off like this again", Ms Fearnley said.

"We need help with future-proofing us here."

Electricity distributor Northern Powergrid said about 120,000 power cuts were experienced by about 80,000 of its customers over the weekend due to the torrential rain and strong winds during Storm Darragh.

A spokesperson for the firm told the BBC that about 372 customers in the Goathland area had now had their power restored.

Those who were left without power for more than 24 hours were provided with "support including contributions to overnight accommodation", they said.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said the weekend's stormy weather had affected the nearby Randymere reservoir pumping station, resulting in a loss of water supply to some properties in Goathland.

"While power was restored to some properties on Saturday evening, power was not restored to Randymere reservoir until Sunday evening," they added.

"We know how inconvenient issues like this can be and thank customers for their patience and understanding."

Storm Darragh caused disruption across Yorkshire, affecting travel and causing events to be cancelled.

Gusts of more than 50mph (80km/h) were recorded at Topcliffe, near Ripon, and Leeming on Saturday, with many roads affected.

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