CONCERNS have been raised after a 95-year-old was on the ‘brink of hypothermia’ after days of no heating due to Storm Arwen.

Residents cut off from electricity for over a week were in a ‘desperate situation’ which could have ‘ended in tragedy’, said one High Furness councillor.

Thousands of homes across Cumbria were left without power as high winds and freezing temperatures hit the county last week.

This led volunteers to rally around South Cumbrian communities to protect the area’s most vulnerable.

It was during one of these check-ins that one elderly individual was ‘dangerously close’ to hypothermia after days without power.

Councillor Matt Brereton, who represents the High Furness Division of Cumbria County Council, praised the volunteers who went above and beyond for the most vulnerable in the community.

He said: “I became aware in conversations with members of the community mostly via email or social media that there were still extensive pockets of homes without power all around the High Furness area on Monday, and that estimates for reconnection from Electricity North West were very inaccurate and constantly changing.

“I suggested to County Council officers that the Broughton meals on wheels team could perhaps be utilised, and very quickly I heard that the team would mobilise to provide a hot meal that very night.

"Hats off to Selwyn Wright and Jane Rousseau and all the volunteers who provide the brilliant Broughton area meals on wheels service, which sprang up in response to the pandemic last year and has kept going to such great effect.

"I was made aware of two other elderly people that were in the close vicinity, and passed their details to both County and District council officers for the Copeland area, as well as the Copeland MP's office team, and suggested the Broughton meals on wheels group could also look in on these folk to see if they needed help.

"It sounds as though one of these two individuals was indeed dangerously close to hypothermia, so I am extremely grateful for the excellent work the Broughton volunteers did and for those who acted quickly to alert me to the desperate situation some people found themselves in.

“I am glad that it sounds as though this person was reached just in time, and of course.

“It is very concerning that they were obviously overlooked for such an amount of time and the situation could have ended in tragedy.”

Cllr Brereton said ‘lessons need to be learned’ in future emergency situations.

He said: "I think lessons need to be learned in terms of keeping the community properly updated when there is a major power outage, and not least giving more accurate estimates as to how long power is going to be off.

“ENW needs to work with the local authorities to update and maintain a much more comprehensive and complete list of vulnerable customers, and proactively reach out to them much sooner than happened in this instance.

"Here in Duddon the Parish Council is working on reviewing and updating its own emergency response and resilience plan, and I am sure there will be things we can all do better in the future should another situation arise that knocks out power, communications, and water supplies all at the same time.

“Thankfully the community spirit and response has been phenomenal, once again, and the importance of looking out for our friends, family and neighbours in times of crisis again been emphasised."

A spokesman Electricity North West said: “We have worked very closely with Cumbria’s local resilience forum, including emergency services and the local authority throughout this incident to prioritise support to those in the most vulnerable circumstances and we continue to do so with teams on the ground also working with the British Red Cross.

“Throughout the incident we have encouraged anyone with a medical requirement for power to call us direct on 105 and for people to check on neighbours so that we can prioritise our response and continue to support those most in need.

“As always following an incident we will be carrying out a full review with partners so we can continually improve our response.”