POLICE received over 500 phone calls as Storm Doris caused chaos across Warrington and Cheshire.
Although the worst of the storm has now passed police are warning people to take care, with fears that many trees will have been weakened during the strong winds.
Since 9.00am today, Thursday 23 February, Cheshire Police received an unprecedented number of calls, with officers responding to over 500 incidents.
Chief Inspector Sarah Edgar said: “Although the worst of the weather has now passed, Storm Doris is continuing to cause disruption across the county.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and we are working with partner agencies to respond to incidents as they occur.
“As darkness begins to fall I would like to advise motorists travelling on the county’s roads to take extra care. While all efforts are being made to clear the roads as soon as possible, a large number of trees have come down as a result of the storm and there is still a significant amount debris on the roads. It is anticipated that further trees will fall due to being weakened during the storm.
“We have had a large number of calls relating to fallen trees in the road and damaged buildings which have been passed onto the local councils to deal with. Adverse weather conditions do not of course just affect motorists; members of public are urged to be aware of their own safety and pay attention to warnings and advice being issued.”
In Warrington the A49 was also closed in both directions from the M56 Junction 10 at Stretton to the A533 Runcorn Road, Northwich, due to a fallen tree. Thelwall Viaduct was closed for several hours, eventually re-opening at around 15.30pm
The A57 at Woolston and Wilderspool causeway became gridlocked with traffic following the motorway causing traffic chaos across Warrington.
Meanwhile Walton Hall and Gardens and Gullivers’ World at Westbrook were closed for the due to safety fears.
Central Station was also closed as the roof was damaged.
At Stockton Heath the roof was literally blown off the top of local take away India, India on London Road.
Hollins Lane, Winwick, was closed in both directions at the junction with the A49 Newton Road, because of a fallen tree.
Winwick Road at Croft was also closed due to a fallen tree and Ellesmere Road, Stockton Heath was also closed.
Cromwell Road was also closed between Winwick Road and Callands Road and Lodgge Lane, Bewsey was also closed while tree debris was removed from the road.
A familiar scene across Cheshire as roads are closed
