Mum's fears after Pelton Fell estate left without power from Storm Arwen

Gemma Nicholson, who lives in Pelton Fell near Chester-le-Street, was left with no option but to take herself and five-year-old, Ayla to her mother’s home after power failed on Saturday morning.

She has since spoken out about the “horrendous” conditions as she described her fear for the thousands of vulnerable and elderly people across the North East still without power.

Read more: Major incident declared in County Durham due to widespread power cuts

Speaking to The Northern Echo, she said her home on Tennyson Road had been plunged into darkness and blisteringly cold temperatures, with no idea of when power would be restored.

Picture: GOOGLE

'A massive flash'

She said: “The power went off at 12.57 on the Saturday morning, there had been a massive flash and all the power to the estate went off.

“Normally if that happens it's off for around an hour or so, but four days later we were still without power."

Read more: Storm Arwen: How to claim from Northern Powergrid if you were cut off

Explaining that a lack of heating, hot water and electricity had made her home unhabitable, she said daughter Ayla had suffered from the huge upheaval.

She said: "Ayla doesn't settle anywhere else, her routine was ruined and it was a struggle to get her ready for school on a morning.

"But going back was just not safe for a five-year-old girl in those conditions. It was absolutely freezing - we had no heating for four days."

Shopping ruined

Counting the costs of the power outage, Ms Nichsolson said hundreds of pounds worth of shopping in her fridge-freezer had been left completely ruined.

She said: "We'd lost around £150 worth of shopping, luckily I'd put off going shopping on the Friday otherwise I'd have lost another £200.

"Northern Powergrid won't compensate for that, they say to go through your home or contents insurance but mine has just come to an end.

"We should be due back at least £350 in compensation for loss of power from Northern Powergrid, but we don't know when we'll get that."

Pictures: GEMMA NICHOLSON

To her relief, Ms Nicholson saw power restored on Tuesday evening with last night being the first night for her and Ayla in their own home since Saturday morning.

But after seeing first-hand the impact no heating or electricity has had, she has raised concerns for those still without power and "stuck with nowhere to go."

She said: "It's just disgusting - I was speaking to someone and they said they hadn't seen anything like this since the 70s.

'People frozen in their own homes'

"I am lucky to have had my mother, but others don't and others don't have the money to spend in hotels, or they just don't feel comfortable or able to stay in a hotel.

"I worry at the end of all this, will they find people frozen in their own homes."

Ms Nicholson praised the community efforts at The Brockwell Centre in Pelton Fell which has been providing a place of warmth, free power, tea and coffee since Saturday.

She said: "The community have been taken it upon themselves to come together, people have been coming in with flasks, soup and hot water bottles.

"The number of elderly people who have turned up to the community centre this week - it's just been full."

Ms Nicholson added that those in her community were fortunate to have been offered help, but said thousands of other vulnerable people desperately needed it.

Those concerns came as a major incident was this afternoon declared in County Durham as thousands continued to be without power.

Read more: Northern Powergrid provide update about how many houses need reconnecting

A special group has been assembled with teams from Durham County Council, Durham Police, Northumbrian Water and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust and the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service involved.

Meanwhile, Northern Powergrid issued an update at 3pm today saying that further homes had been restored overnight but that almost 10,000 are still without power.

In a statement, it said: "The electricity distributor’s teams will work into the night and from first light tomorrow with more than 2,000 people continuing to support its response in the field and behind the scenes.

"Northern Powergrid continues to make progress restoring customers’ supplies but the network operator still has much to do as a result of the scale of devastation to parts of its network.

"Advice remains that customers continue with alternative arrangements, wherever possible, like staying with family or friends until their power can be safely restored. 

"Northern Powergrid is reminding people of the welfare support it is offering to support reasonable accommodation and costs for domestic customers. Customers affected by Storm Arwen who need this help should email StormArwen@northernpowergrid.com.

"Northern Powergrid continues to do all it can and its dedicated teams will not stop until it has everyone affected by the storm back on supply.

"The network operator is very sorry for the ongoing disruption and understands how upsetting this is for those customers worst affected. 

"It will continue to offer welfare support to help its customers through this incredibly challenging time.

"Its teams are very grateful for the kind words from many customers, as they continue to work in the wintery conditions to restore power and repair damage that is disrupting customers’ lives.

"Northern Powergrid continues to remind customers to report any damaged cables or equipment by calling 105 and not approach the area as equipment may still be live."

To view the latest from Northern Powergrid click here

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