Storm Arwen: 300 military personnel deployed to worst-hit areas

About 300 military personnel are helping with relief efforts in parts of England and Scotland worst hit by the force of Storm Arwen.

British Army and Royal Marines personnel deployed quickly in response to urgent requests for assistance from local authorities and are reassuring communities in impacted areas.

Troops have been checking in on vulnerable people door-to-door and are on standby to provide further supplies and support.

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On Saturday, 80 soldiers of 4 Royal Artillery, based at Alan Brook Barracks in Topcliffe, deployed to Northumberland.

Eighty-three troops from the Royal Lancers, based at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, were deployed to County Durham on Friday.

Personnel, from units based in Scotland including 39 Engineer Regiment, 3 Scots and 45 Commando, deployed to the Grampian region of Scotland on Thursday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "My thoughts are with all those who are still affected by the terrible damage from Storm Arwen.

"I want to thank the emergency responders and engineers who have been working tirelessly this week to try and restore power.

"I also want to thank our brilliant Armed Forces who have been deployed rapidly to support those communities which are worst affected."

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "Our dedicated Armed Forces personnel are working side by side with civil authorities to provide essential support to communities impacted by Storm Arwen.

"The ability to deploy quickly to wherever in the UK assistance is requested makes us all safer and ensures we are able to look to protect the most vulnerable in our society."

Thousands of Armed Forces personnel are on standby to support resilience efforts in the United Kingdom, including the coronavirus response.

In the past seven days, emergency teams have been trying to restore power to disrupted areas – about one million people have been impacted, with power now restored to 99% of those affected, according to the Ministry of Defence.