Storm Arwen response continues – with warning over rogue traders exploiting damage

Wrexham Council have dealt with almost 100 incidents of damage caused by Storm Arwen in the last five days.

Gusts of more than 60mph and heavy rain hit Wrexham on Friday night and throughout most of Saturday, causing damage to people’s homes, travel disruption and wide scale power cuts in the south of the county borough.

Around 160 trees fell across Wrexham as a result of the storm, leaving many roads blocked and taking out power and phone lines.

Cllr David A Bithell, lead member for environment and transport, said that seven specialist teams have been out with chain saws managing fallen trees. A further eight operatives have been removing debris.

Work clearing up the remainder of the damage is set to continue throughout the rest of the week, with additional resources made available to assist with the process.

Cllr Bithell said: “Grounds maintenance teams (18 operative ) are still deployed clearing up storm damage and in addition we have an additional 6 additional resources deployed from other work areas to assist the clear up.

“We still have some road closures roads due to fallen power lines where we continue to work with the Utility companies to ensure appropriate health and safety.

“We continue to work across communities with the clear up during this week and I would like to thank all our staff and emergency services who responded across the county borough.”

Yesterday Wrexham Council issued a warning to residents not to use cold callers to carry out repair work following Storm Arwen.

Rogue traders could look to take advantage of the recent storm and the damage it may have caused people’s property and what turns out to be an initial minor job can escalate into something much larger.

A spokesperson for Wrexham Council said: “If you do enlist the services of a businesses, make sure you know who you are dealing with.

“It sounds obvious but having more than just a business name, i.e. persons name if not a limited company, and mailing address and contact numbers.

“Make sure you know what you will be charged and get things put in writing. Have a think about any quote you get. Don’t just rush into the first one received. Get a few to compare, or talk to family, friends or neighbours to see if it is a reasonable amount you are being quoted.

““Report to Trading Standards via The Citizens Advice Consumer Service. Anything suspicious, note vehicle registrations or take a picture. If you CCTV of any kind that captures images, pass on to Trading Standards who can use this information to protect others.”

*Thanks to Mark Riley for sending us the top picture of Rhosddu after the storm.