STORM Callum has left hundreds of homes without power in Cumbria.

In an update at 3.14pm, Electricity North West said a powercut in Penrith is affecting 549 homes.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind and rain for today (Friday) between 3am and midnight with gales of between 60mph and 65mph and a further yellow weather warning for rain for tomorrow (Saturday).

The strong winds can cause power cuts due to flying debris and trees falling onto overhead power lines.

This morning, there was also disruption for motorists after a fallen tree blocked the A66 Eastbound at Bassentwaite Lake. The road has since been cleared.

In response to today's storm, Electricity North West has drafted in extra engineers and call centre agents to help monitor the network, repair any potential damage caused by Storm Callum and provide help customers throughout the day.

Samantha Loukes, incident manager for Electricity North West, said: “We have already seen gusts of 62mph at St Bees and 50mph in Shap in Cumbria.

"Engineers are dealing with eight faults on the network this morning, four in Cumbria, two in Lancashire and two in the Peak District impacting 2,140 customers - 638 of those in Cumbria.

“We’ll be closely monitoring the weather and we are always prepared and we’re well-rehearsed in working around the clock to mobilise our engineers and repair any damage and get the power back on as quickly as possible if it does go off.

“We are urging people that if they see any damage to our overhead power lines please stay away and report it to us straight away so we can repair it safely.

“We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week if customers need any help or advice.”

For advice on what to do in the event of a powercut, visit: www.enwl.co.uk/power-cuts/helpful-tips.

To view live power cut information in the region, go to Electricity North West’s website, or get in touch on their Twitter and Facebook pages or by calling 105.