Cornwall and Devon have major damage from Storm Goretti

Thousands of homes are without power after Storm Goretti brought Cornwall a rare red weather warning for wind, with widespread damage to property and many trees blown down.

The warning was in force from 16:00 GMT to 23:00 on Thursday with a further yellow warning for wind for Devon and Cornwall until 08:00 on Friday – gusts of 99mph (159 kph) were recorded in the Isles of Scilly.

National Grid said engineers were working to get supplies back across the region after more than 42,000 homes were left without power in Cornwall and 998 in Devon.

There is ongoing disruption across Devon and Cornwall due to fallen trees and debris on roads and train cancellations, with many properties also damaged.

Great Western Railway (GWR) said all trains in Cornwall would continue to be suspended with services not expected to start before 16:00 on Friday while safety checks and clearance of the line took place.

It added trains between Exeter and Okehampton, and Exeter and Barnstaple were expected to resume at 12:00.

Passengers were advised not to attempt to travel on attempted routes and rail replacement services would not be available due to roads also being impacted.

GWR said all other routes were expected to operate as normal but passengers should check their journey before travelling.

Thirty schools and colleges in Cornwall are closed for the day due to the storm, while 59 schools opening late.

Cornwall Council said a large number of roads were still closed due to fallen trees, downed power lines and debris and to avoid travelling if possible.

Coastguards said they faced a frantic night as Storm Goretti battered the Cornish coast, triggering multiple rescue missions.

Tom Bolt from the Falmouth Coastguard said crews were “extremely busy” as the storm swept in with reports of boats adrift.

“They actually got paged seven times last night,” he said.

“And the Falmouth Coastguard rescue team got tasked three times. They’ve done a fantastic job.”

Residents in Grampound in Cornwall were forced to leave their homes on Thursday night after concerns there was a gas leak caused by fallen trees during the storm.

Carpet fitter Paul Southworth said: “We needed to go to Probus village hall but we couldn’t get through because the road was closed.

“We had to go through the back lanes, through Tregony but there were trees down there so we turned around.

“Then they said the village hall’s opening at Sticker and we waited there until the police told us we could come back.”

Donna Fryer was also told to leave her home.

She said: “We got a knock on the door from a police officer to ask us to evacuate. He just said, major gas leak.”

A spokesperson for Wales & West Utilities said: “We were called this evening by the Fire & Rescue Service to the Grampound area in Truro after reports of a gas leak.

“On arrival, we found that a tree had fallen, damaging a gas service governor in the area, causing it to leak.

“As a precaution, the emergency services had evacuated a nearby property. Our engineers worked as safely and as quickly as possible and have made the area safe. The resident has been allowed to return to their home, and the emergency services have left the area.

“We are now working to make a permanent repair. There has been no impact on wider gas supplies.”

In the Isles of Scilly, where the storm hit on its way to Cornwall, hundreds of homes are without power.

The Council for the Isles of Scilly said: “Our teams and the emergency services are still dealing with widespread disruption from Storm Goretti this morning, including blocked roads, unstable structures and causes of power failures.”

It asked people to stay at home to make the clean up easier for emergency services.

St Mary’s airport said it would not be opening at the normal time on Friday and it would give an update at 10:30.

Five Islands Academy said following further discussions with the council and police, it made the decision it would remain closed on Friday.

NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly said some GP practices and district nursing teams are impacted by power outages.

It said the most disruption was currently in west Cornwall, including the Lizard and Roseland areas.

Practices without power were Bodriggy, Marazion, Middleway, Mullion, Perranporth, Praze, Probus, St Agnes, St Keverne and Carnon Downs.