Power cuts, traffic disruption and fallen trees have been evident across Monmouthshire as Storm Eunice continues to impact the county.

Despite this Monmouthshire County Council have confirmed that services temporarily disrupted by the storm yesterday will be returning to normal today.

Following the damage caused by Storm Eunice, the council confirmed last night that over 1,000 homes were left without power, with residents urged to contact Western Power for information.

County Council crews were out and about throughout the day clearing over 50 fallen trees which blocked the roads, whilst the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge and M48 Severn Bridge were closed to traffic due to high winds. The M4 Prince of Wales Bridge is now back open.

Despite the adverse weather conditions and travel issues, home carers across the county attended all calls and Monmouthshire’s meals service delivered to all homes as expected, with the contact centre taking over 300 calls to support people throughout the day and responding to queries.

Winter maintenance teams have been out overnight gritting roads as temperatures drop although drivers are being warned of risks of snow, ice and difficult driving conditions.

Any residents who were due a recycling and waste collection on Friday 18th should put their recycling and waste out for collection by 7am today (Saturday February 19) and the teams will endeavour to collect everything as soon as they possibly can.

Plans are in place for services to return to normal today with all leisure centres and MonLife attractions re-opening, along with all library services, social care and health services. All community meals will be delivered today and bus services should also be running as normal.

Teams will be on storm patrol all weekend, including monitoring rainfall and flood risks as flood alerts remain in place on the River Wye and River Usk.

I would like to thank everyone in Monmouthshire who has avoided travel today – conditions are still looking challenging out there, so it’s wise to avoid any unnecessary journeys. Thank you to colleagues who have been working round the clock in difficult conditions to keep everyone safe and to get so many services back up and running for tomorrow. I’m incredibly proud of the way that colleagues and residents alike have dealt with the biggest storm we have seen in decades

Monmouthshire County Council Leader Richard John