THE generous spirit of so many helped people from the Crediton area get through some tough times recently as the county was affected by recent storms, namely Dudley, Eunice and Franklin.

Storm Dudley passed by, without causing serious damage, but was quickly followed by Storm Eunice, which battered the district.

Hundreds of homes in Crediton and a large number of villages in the area were without power for a time on Friday, February 18.

At one time Western Power said that tens of thousands of people were without power in Devon and many more in other parts of the South West.

It had engineers working night and day and for some residents at Coldridge, Zeal Monachorum, Sandford, Poughill, Witheridge, Shobrooke, Half Moon and many more, had no power for up to four days.

The Waie Inn at Zeal Monachorum issued a statement for local residents on social media which read: “For those in the village without electricity, at the moment the Waie Inn still has electricity.

“If you need flasks filling for hot water or some food, pop down if it’s safe to do so.”

Western Power paid for a hot food van to serve food to local residents who had been without power at Witheridge one evening.

Winds in excess of 100 mph caused considerable damage to trees and property across the county.

ON THE ROADS

There were significant problems on the roads in the Crediton area.

At Half Moon between Exeter and Crediton a tree and telegraph pole came down, which resulted in the closure of the A377 at that location.

Long queues resulted and alternative routes, mainly around Langford and Shobrooke, saw many blocked roads.

Hanlons Brewery was praised for delivering coffee, tea and water to those stranded on a bus in the queue of traffic.

Margaret Snell said on social media: “Thank you so much, very much appreciated.”

There were hundreds of fallen trees in the county, Devon County Council confirmed.

Those which fell on roads caused significant problems for motorists.

This included on the A377 at Lapford, between Bow and Okehampton on the A3072, at North Tawton and Farley’s Grave, at Raddon Hill, Cheriton Fitzpaine and between Witheridge and Nomansland.

Several large branches came down on roads and were cleared, including by Crediton Rugby Club.

In Crediton a number of garden fences were blown down and at the Barnfield allotments, a number of sheds blown over, some totally destroyed.

In addition, Network Rail had to stop all services in the county.

SPORT DISRUPTION

Storm Eunice played havoc with the weekend’s sporting schedule as high winds and rain battered the region.

The South West Peninsula League, which sits at Step Six on the non-league ladder, let clubs call games off without the need for a pitch inspection.

Before the weekend the league spokesman said: “All clubs have been emailed to advise that the Severe Weather Protocol has been invoked for this weekend.

“Host clubs can now postpone games without inspection, but must contact league match officials and opponents.”

Reasons cited for the decision included the various severe weather warnings, potential damage to facilities and restrictions on travel.

Exeter City FC had to postpone its match against Barrow due to damage to the “integrity of the Big Bank”.

RECYCLING CENTRES

Recycling centres across Devon, including the hill-top located Punchbowl Recycling Centre near Crediton, were closed for several days.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: “Due to the amber/red warnings for #StormEunice, all Household Waste Recycling Centres across Devon will be CLOSED on Friday, February 18 (due to the significant risk of flying debris at sites). We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

EXTRA STAFF

Extra staff were drafted in to assist at Devon County Council’s Network Operations Control Centre and extra highways teams were also deployed.

Teams of tree-surgeons were drafted in and were incredibly busy.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “Once again I would like to praise all the staff that worked so hard last weekend to help get Devon moving again and this was largely because we were well prepared.

“We knew the storm was coming and prepared accordingly by increasing resources, and that helped reduce the impact.”