Cornwall residents ‘prayed for protection’ as Storm Goretti hit

As Penny Lidgard lay awake in fear while Storm Goretti tore through Cornwall, it was not what she could see but what she could hear which worried her the most.

“The wind was absolutely howling,” said Lidgard, who lives in a caravan in St Hilary, near Penzance.

“It was pitch black but you could hear the crash of the trees around us. We were just laying there thinking, ‘There goes another one’.

“We were really scared.”

Goretti, which lashed Cornwall on Thursday night with 99mph (159km/h) gusts, brought down masses of trees and caused power cuts to tens of thousands of homes.

One man was killed after a tree fell on to his caravan in the Mawgan area of Helston.

Cornwall’s western coast was badly hit, with some residents going without power and water for five days.

Recalling Thursday night, Lidgard described a struggle to get one of her neighbours out of his caravan as concerns mounted over surrounding trees.

“Suddenly there were people outside with torches,” she said.

“They were getting him out because they could hear the trees creaking.

“As they all went out the tree did come out and smash into his caravan so it was a very lucky escape.”

Lidgard said she was used to storms – as many are in Cornwall – but Goretti, which drew a rare Met Office red warning, was different.

“I don’t believe anybody believed how bad it would be,” she said.

“We’re Christians and, to be honest, we were both praying. I was praying for protection from the trees behind us.

“I believe God had his hand over us and protected us that night.”

Further along the trail of destruction in Mullion on the Lizard Peninsula was The Old Inn which became a refuge for villagers who had lost power and internet on Thursday night.

General manager Ryan Bray said wind “blasted through the village for hours and hours”.

“The rain was really driving, it was really something,” he said.

“The slats were firing off our roof like out of a cannon.”

He said the power also went out in the pub and it was only as daylight broke they realised there was “quite a dramatic hole in the roof”.

Despite the damage, villagers have still been able to gather in the pub as they wait for the lights to come back on.

Richard and Carolyn Cater, from Predannack, had been without power for days.

“We’ve now thrown out all of our fridge, all of our freezer, and we’ve had to rely on our family and friends,” said Richard.

“It has been miserable.”

Carolyn added: “You don’t realise all of your daily duties and routines you’ve got to put on hold.

“I realise this has been a big challenge for them, there’s been an awful lot and hopefully they’ve got it right in terms of people that need it.”

Annette Turton, from Newbridge, Penzance, was another who was left shivering in the cold as the power went out.

The 82-year-old said she was lucky to have a log burner but described it being “totally black” when the storm hit.

“It was very scary on your own,” she said.

Steven Joseph, South West operations director for National Grid, described the operation to restore power as “the largest we’ve had in this area”.

“We’ve had 30-40ft (9-12m) trees fall which is completely uncommon in the area,” he said.

“That’s resulted in our poles being snapped.

“We have to replace the pole, put new poles in the ground and then get cables back in the area.”

He thanked residents for their patience.

“We completely understand it’s an unsettling time,” he added.

Lidgard said she had no plans to leave her caravan, but said Goretti had made her more cautious.

“Looking forward I think we’ve gone through the worst… I don’t think it will be like that again,” she said.

“I’m hoping it won’t be like that again.”