Hundreds of people are still without power nearly a WEEK after Storm Arwen caused destruction

Hundreds of people are still without power nearly a WEEK after Storm Arwen caused destruction.

Families are using candles to light their homes for the seventh day in a row throughout Northumberland, with police going door to door to check on the stranded.

Locals said around a dozen caravans had blown into the sea off Berwick-upon-Tweed during the nearly 100mph winds, and today (2) the park was still in chaos.

A local councillor said at least one elderly person had died, and he believes a lack of heating and power was a contributing factor.

Pubs and hotels which have had power restored have opened up to let locals come in to warm up and have a shower.

Victoria Hedges, 29, from Berwick-upon-Tweed, has been without power since Friday.

She lives with her 61-year-old mother, while her 81-year-old grandmother lives in an annex.

She said: “Luckily we have a gas hob to boil water and we can light candles when it gets dark.

“Even if we are offered a hotel, we have pet dogs and a cat and reptiles so we can’t leave them here.

“We just don’t have a timeline – we don’t know when this will be fixed.”

“Luckily both my mum and I travel to work so we have been charging up powerbanks to charge our phones.

“When we run out of things to do in the evening, we just go to bed.

“My grandmother has an iPad and we have been charging that for her so she can play card games on it and speak to friends.

“But when the power first went down, we found her confused sat in the dark on her own.”

Luckily their house wasn’t damaged badly by the storm although they said that the roof was damaged in parts and it is leaking rainwater into their upstairs bedroom.

She said: “We have older neighbours who we have also been checking on.

“We don’t know when it’ll be fixed – it's all just a bit chaotic.”

Northumberland councillor Steven Bridgett said while there are still more than 300 homes without power.

He said: "We’ve had a death in this area.

"The person in question did have underlying health conditions but we believe the lack of power and or heating may have been a contributing factor.

"My thoughts really are with the persons family.

"I don’t know what to say. I’m gutted."

This morning (2) Northumbria Police, Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service, Northumberland National Park Officers and Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team started going door to door.

The teams were offering help and support to those without power.

Berwick Holiday Park was a scene of destructions with caravans literally flattened by the storms.

Locals said some had blown into the sea at the height of the bad weather.

Villagers in Kirknewton were serving hot food to those without cooking facilities this lunchtime (2).

The Black Bull pub and Tankerville Arms Hotel, both in Wooler, were offering "showers and warmth" to those in need.