Council teams thanked as storm clear-up continues this week.

A MOP-UP operation swung into action this weekend as North East Lincolnshire Council staff worked around the clock in the wake of Storm Darragh.

Winds of around 60mph and driving rain across Saturday night and into Sunday saw trees toppled and power cuts in some rural areas.

Crews from the council were deployed over 48 hours to clear priority areas where trees and debris had fallen onto through roads. These included the A18 and Matthew Telford Way and highways in Brigsley, Barnoldly-le-Beck and Waltham.

Elsewhere there were reports of trees down in People’s Park and a private area of Ings Lane in Waltham.  

Meanwhile in the Lincolnshire Wolds some villages were without power overnight on Saturday.

A council spokesperson said: “With warnings of this latest storm, the council did have a team on stand-by to deal with emergencies overnight and then from 7am on Sunday. The work continued throughout Sunday and grounds maintenance teams will be back out again from Monday morning.

“The main task was ensuring the safety of the public and motorists, with blocked roads tackled first. We are pleased to report that people appeared to be extremely sensible and heeded the warnings to take care and staying in where possible.”

North East Lincolnshire Council Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Cllr Henry Hudson, added: “As these storms become more frequent, we are more reliant than ever on our staff to work weekends and through the night to ensure the safety of people and I would like to thank them for their hard work.”