Firefighters have thanked members of the public who helped out with the ‘challenges’ of Storm Doris.
Fierce gusts brought down trees and caused huge disruption across Cheshire West and Chester on February 23.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service head of service delivery Alex Waller said it was a ‘great team effort’.
He said: “Thanks to Storm Doris, Thursday was a certainly a busy day.
“North West Fire Control staff and Cheshire crews did a fantastic job in responding to incidents and helping to reduce the risk of injury to the public.
“They worked alongside partner agencies to ensure that dangerous structures were made safe across the county.
“I would also like to thank members of the public for the support they expressed to our crews and control staff during such a challenging incident.”
Callouts for fire crews included damage to the University of Chester’s Sumner House, the roof blown off a row of garages in Ellesmere Port and tiles falling into London Road in Northwich.
The UoC said the halls of residence would be repaired ‘when it is safe to gain access’.
Trees felled by the winds blocked roads including the A56, Woodfall Lane in Little Neston and Manley Lane in Frodsham. The A49 in Whitley remained shut into the following day.
It was mostly up to the Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Streetscene team to clear the debris, with help from firefighters and the public.
The Met Office had predicted trouble with an amber weather warning in place throughout the day. Their weather station at Hawarden picked up gusts of 61mph.
Both the M6 and M56 had to be shut because of the high winds causing long delays for drivers.
Cheshire Police said they received an ‘unprecedented’ number of calls in relation to the ‘extreme’ weather.
In total they responded to more than 500 incidents.
Homes within the CH2 postcode area of Chester lost power for almost 12 hours.
Storm Doris caused major disruption on the rails with cancellations on Merseyrail from both Chester and Ellesmere Port to Hooton as well as on the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Warrington.
Manchester Airport had to temporarily suspend all landings for part of the day, with some flights diverted to Liverpool and others managing to touch down in the tricky conditions thanks to some impressive pilot skill.
Attractions such as Chester Zoo, the Crocky Trail and Sick to Death on Chester city walls were all forced to close for the day.
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Storm Doris
