THE Leader of Cheshire East Council has praised residents for their ‘true British spirit’ in the wake of last week’s severe storm.

Last Wednesday, hurricane winds caused mayhem across the borough – pulling down power lines and leaving thousands of households in darkness.

The Council received an ‘unprecedented number of calls’, including reports of more than 200 trees torn down and several damaged buildings, after wind speeds reached almost 100mph across the borough.

Leader of the Council Michael Jones said: “We’ve had unprecedented calls and I can only praise staff who worked through the night to make sure that power was reconnected and the vulnerable were cared for.

“I’ve been hearing stories of how well people in the borough have dealt with this in true British spirit, and they should be praised.”

Cheshire police reported a total of 1,457 calls received during the storm - 685 of which were 999 calls and 772 non-emergency calls.

There were 752 weather-related incidents, the majority being trees and cables down causing disruption on the roads and hazards to the public.

Motorists also had to contend with heavy congestion following the closure of the Thewall viaduct on the M6 shortly before rush-hour.

The viaduct was closed from 4-9pm after 64mph gusts were recorded on the bridge and diversion routes were put in place causing long tail-backs on the A556, M56, M60 and M62.

Tell us about your expereinces.  Email photos and experiences to knutsford@guardiangrp.co.uk.