Thousands of homes are without power as the county is battered by Storm Ciara.

Highs winds and rain hit the region overnight which caused damage to the overhead electricity network, with worse conditions expected today.

Almost 3,000 properties lost power overnight engineers managed to restore 576 by 9.30am. As repairs are made further damage and power cuts in other areas is expected.

On Saturday night and early hours of Sunday wind speeds topped 55mph along with prolonged spells of heavy rain. Later today, gusts are expected to reach up to 80mph.

As well as regularly monitoring the weather, Electricity North West also has more than 200 extra engineers on standby ready to respond.

Delays may be caused to restoration efforts as fallen trees block access to sites and the high winds make it unsafe for engineers to climb poles to repair overhead lines.

Sam Loukes, incident manager at Electricity North West said: “Overnight was very wet and windy and a number of trees have fallen due to the weather.

“Our electricity network withstood the conditions remarkably well and we were extremely well prepared to deal with the faults that did occur.

“The Met Office’s weather warnings remain in place and we are monitoring the conditions 24/7. Our plans are well practiced and we have local teams available to respond quickly on the ground.

“If anybody does see any damage to overhead lines or electricity equipment, we urge them to stay away and report it to us immediately by calling 105.”

Areas affected:

CA28 6PL, CA28 6PW, CA15 8UW, CA28 6RT, CA28 6RU, CA28 6RX, CA28 6RY, CA28 8UR, CA28 8UW, CA28 8XN, CA28 8XS, CA28 8YW, CA28 8XJ, CA28 8XQ, CA28 8XH, CA28 8XL, CA28 8XG, CA28 8XR, CA28 8UP, CA28 8UT, CA28 8WE, CA28 8WF, CA28 8WZ, CA28 8XE, CA28 8XF, CA28 8XP, CA28 8YE, CA28 8YF, CA28 8YG, CA28 8YJ, CA28 8YQ, CA28 8YS, CA28 8UU, CA28 8UX, CA28 8XB, CA28 8XD, CA28 8UY, CA28 6SF, CA28 6SE, CA28 6RS, CA28 8UZ, CA28 8XA, CA28 8YP, CA28 8XW, CA28 8UH, CA28 8UJ, CA28 8UL, CA28 8UN, CA28 8EY

CA13 9YN, CA13 9YE, CA13 9YL, CA12 5SA, CA12 5SQ, CA13 9YP, CA12 5SL, CA12 5SJ, CA13 9TN, CA13 9YW, CA13 9YS, CA13 9XL, CA13 9YG, CA13 9YR, CA13 9YA, CA13 9TX

CA10 2NA, CA10 2JF

CA7 3LF, CA7 3LG, CA7 3LQ, CA7 3LN, CA7 3LH, CA5 3LL, CA7 3LJ, CA7 3LL, CA7 3LY, CA7 3LZ, CA7 3NA, CA7 3NB, CA5 3NB

CA12 5TU, CA12 5TS

CA11 8RY, CA11 8SW, CA11 8TP, CA11 8TZ, CA11 9LS, CA11 9LU, CA11 9LW, CA11 9LL, CA11 8RZ, CA11 9NF, CA11 9NB, CA11 8SA, CA11 8RP, CA11 9LH, CA11 8SQ, CA11 8SE, CA11 8SG, CA11 8SF, CA11 8SH, CA11 8TD, CA11 8US, CA11 8TA, CA11 8TB, CA11 8BN, CA11 8SJ, CA11 9LN, CA11 9LP, CA11 9LX, CA11 9LY, CA11 9LZ, CA11 9NA, CA11 9LJ, CA11 9ND, CA11 8RR, CA11 8RS, CA11 9NY