1000 emergency calls as Norse Highways responds to 70mph winds

In the aftermath of a week of a dramatic weather front, with winds reaching up to 70 mph winds, Norse Highways crews involved in the clean-up were thanked for their hard work in dealing with more than 1,000 emergency calls.

In a 52-hour period Norse Highways teams and their sub-contractors, cleared 203 trees and broken branches that had fallen onto roads or pavements; with their exceptional hard work being noted by their Norfolk County Council partners.

Cllr Martin Wilby, cabinet member for Highways, Infrastructure and Transport, said: “I’d like to thank the Norse Highway crews for their hard work over the weekend, dealing with an unprecedented number of calls.

“It was a remarkable effort, which saw teams dealing with hundreds of trees and branches down on our roads and paths, issues with traffic lights and damaged streetlights, and flash flooding caused by the sudden and prolonged rainfall.

“The majority of our roads are now open as usual. However, due to the severity of the storm we will be continuing the clear up operation over the coming days.”

Jason Glasspoole, Operations Director, Norse Highways, said he was incredibly pleased with the response and proud of his team, who had gone out in the severe weather conditions in order to keep the roads and walkways for local communities as safe as possible. “On the Friday when the storm hit we quickly increased the number of staff on duty, with up to 12 crews working over the weekend compared to the three crews that would usually be on standby.

“There were huge trees down everywhere – one had even crushed a car. And in the coastal areas we saw sand dunes blown on to roads and pathways. “These are difficult conditions to work in; the winds didn’t drop for a couple of days and the rain never let up, but our crews just got out and on with the job in hand. They really do deserve credit for how professionally they responded.”