People were picking up the pieces yesterday after storm force winds battered North Yorkshire at the weekend.

About 1,000 homes in the county remained without power on Monday morning as householders and businesses checked the damage caused by 100mph gusts and torrential rain.

Hundreds of trees were blown down, many homes were damaged and several lorries were blown over on the A1.

One motorist, Richard Bell, from Easingwold, had two lucky escapes on his way to work on Saturday. After crashing into a fallen tree, another tree fell on to his vehicle as he ran home to get help.

About 70 rare trees at Thorp Perrow Arboretum, near Bedale, were blown over by the storms.