An iconic British landmark and filming location has been left savaged by Storm Goretti, with fears that the clean-up could take years.
St Michael’s Mount, off the coast of Cornwall, bore the brunt of the devastating storm this week, seeing up to 80 per cent of its trees felled.
The rocky island has just 31 residents, all of whom were evacuated, but saw almost 100 trees torn down in the hurricane-like conditions, as gale-force winds ripped roofs off houses.
Wind off the coast of Cornwall has been officially reached up to 99mph, while one weather station in the South West is said to have reported gusts reaching 123mph.
On St Michael’s Mount, the local weather station recorded winds of 111mph on Thursday evening before a power cut that lasted until Friday morning, according to the island’s head gardener, Darren Little.
He added that the damage was 10 times worse than any other storm that he has seen in his decades on the island, and that he was heartbroken to see the devastation caused.
“At about 6pm it just got louder and louder, and the waves were picking up, the spray was shooting up in the air,” Mr Little said.
“There was a loud crash, a loud bang and suddenly our power went.
St Michael’s Mount has been left savaged by Storm Goretti, with fears that the clean-up could take years
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Up to 100 trees were felled on the iconic island
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“We went out this morning and got our chainsaw equipment out and started to clear the castle path. We had to make sure it was easily accessible in case of emergencies.
“We started at 8.30am and finished around 4.30pm.
“It’s more devastating for us as a gardener seeing the hard work you’ve done over many years, then everything’s wiped out within about six hours.
“We’ve had bad weather before, we’ve had various storms over the years but [in the past] we lose about six or seven trees.
STORM GORETTI – THE LATEST
The island’s head gardener, Darren Little, said it was ‘devastating’ to see the destruction from the storm
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Mr Little said it was the worst storm he has seen in the decades he has spent on the island
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“I’m heartbroken as well for all the gardeners.”
He confirmed that no residents were injured, although there had been damage to some buildings.
Mr Little believes that it could take around three months for an immediate clean-up, and up to 18 months before the area is completely regenerated.
St Michael’s Mount is an iconic filming location and has featured in movies such as the James Bond film Never Say Never Again and Rowan Atkinson’s Johnny English. The Game of Thrones prequel, House of Dragons, has also been filmed on the island.
And while Storm Goretti begins to blow over, leaving a devastating path of destruction in its wake, warnings for snow and ice remain in force for much of the UK.
The UK has seen huge snowfall as a result of Storm Goretti
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The Met Office have warned though that melting snow could lead to flooding
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About 28,000 properties were without power in the South West at 6am on Saturday, along with a further 1,850 across the East and West Midlands.
Forecasters have also warned that the combination of melting snow and rain will increase flood risk in the coming days.
There was up to 27cm of snow recorded in Altnaharra, Scotland, while Cornwall saw 61.8mm of rain at Colliford Dam.
Dan Stroud, Met Office meteorologist, said the weather over the weekend will remain “unsettled and cold”.
He said: “Wintry showers will continue to affect some coastal areas on Saturday, although these will increasingly become confined to northern and eastern parts as the day progresses.
“Elsewhere, after a cold and frosty start, it should be a mostly dry day with variable amounts of cloud. It will be a widely cold day, with frost lingering across parts of the country.
“Sunday will start dry in the east, but cloud and rain already present in the west will move steadily eastwards.
“The rain will fall as snow inland across the north Midlands and areas further north.
“However, temperatures will rise through the day, meaning the snow will become increasingly confined to higher ground by the afternoon.
“It will be windy for all, with coastal gales and the potential for severe gales in the north west later in the day.
“The unsettled but increasingly milder theme continues into next week, with persistent rain at times in northern and western areas, along with strong to gale force winds.
“However, it will feel much milder than recently, with temperatures returning to near-normal values.”