Troops have been drafted across the UK following ‘catastrophic damage’ caused by Storm Arwen. 

High winds and heavy snow brought devastation to England and Scotland where thousands of people have been stranded without electricity for almost a week.

Around 100 soldiers are being sent to the north-east of England to help with the recovery and ‘will be on the ground from tomorrow’.

Conservative MP for North West Durham Richard Holden said this followed a request from Durham County Council, where up to 13,000 properties are still without power due to the scale of the damage caused.

Armed forces minister James Heappey also confirmed this morning that 134 soldiers and Marines have been deployed to 12 hard-hit villages in the Grampian region.

He told Sky News: ‘They are operating in teams of 10 and we think there are about 4,000 homes that they need to get around to.’

Personnel in Scotland will focus on welfare checks in areas where communities are still impacted by the loss of power – Aboyne, Alford, Banchory, Banff, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Inverurie, Peterhead, Stonehaven, Turriff and Westhill.

Over the weekend, Storm Arwen brought winds of over 90mph and three people were killed by falling trees.

 The help comes after Aberdeenshire Council said it had approached the UK Government for military assistance.

Following an approach to the UK Government, 120 military personnel are headed to #Aberdeenshire to support ongoing resilience efforts in the aftermath of #StormArwen

Troops will focus on welfare checks on the ground within communities still impacted by loss of power

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Local authorities have even been forced to supply diesel generators to community hospitals and care homes.

A statement from the council said: ‘This will supplement what our teams have been doing since the weekend. We continue to appreciate all the great examples of community assistance.

‘Rest assured we continue to work tirelessly to provide the support our communities need at this challenging time.’

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