Battling winds at times which reached speeds of up to 70mph, the council’s maintenance, arborist and highways teams had to respond quickly to deal with falling trees, blocked roads and gullies as well as potential flooding threats during the days of the storm.

Crucial preventative work by the teams in the days before the storms struck helped to provide vital protection to properties, residents, parks, roads and motorists during the main impact of the storms themselves.

In addition the teams also worked quickly across the borough to either repair or clear blocked drains and gullies in the days before the storm to reduce the risk of flooding.

During the days of the storms the teams also moved to secure unsafe buildings and clear falling debris from buildings and residential properties, whilst the council’s arborist (tree surgeon) teams moved quickly during the storms to tackle and in some cases remove trees which were in danger of collapse.

Roads particularly affected by debris included Rainford Bypass, where crews had to remove a large trampoline from the highway in one incident.

The teams also had to act quickly to close the bypass and several other key roads which were at imminent risk of flooding during the storms.

Councillor Andy Bowden, St Helens Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “All of our teams did an outstanding job both in the days leading up to the storms and throughout them to help protect residents, properties and buildings across the borough

“Their efforts were undertaken in the midst of some of the worst storm conditions our area has seen in many years and thanks to a lot of quick thinking they were able to keep public areas safe, protect properties and potentially save lives.

“Their work in the days before was particularly important as without that it may have been too late to prevent some of the worst effects from the storms themselves when they struck.”