Stay away, forest visitors told after storm damage

Natural Resources Wales says the road to recovery is under way but could take years at sites such as Caio Forest, near Llandovery

Visitors have been asked not to go to forests and reserves while work continues to repair the destruction left by Storm Darragh.

The storm ripped through Wales last weekend, with heavy rainfall and winds up to 93mph (150km/h) leaving about 95,000 homes without power.

As the largest land manager in Wales, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) looks after about 123,000 hectares (304,000 acres) of Welsh government-owned forests and woodlands.

Many kilometres of forest roads, walking trails and mountain bike routes remain obstructed by fallen trees and branches so will take time to clear, NRW said.

NRW released photos of damaged forests near Llandovery in Carmarthenshire and Crickhowell in Powys, showing dozens of felled trees.

Gavin Bown of NRW said Storm Darragh took a significant toll on the land and with widespread fall of trees, the destruction could take years to overcome.

"While we're undertaking that important work to get your trails back to normal, those who use them for recreation are advised not to travel to our sites at this time," Mr Bown said.

"The impacts we have seen will likely affect planned forest and harvesting operations for years to come," he added.

Trails in Mynydd Du Forest, near Crickhowell, remain obstructed by fallen trees and branches

109 customers remained without power on Friday morning following Storm Darragh, according to the National Grid.

Rosie Quinn of National Grid told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast the damage to the network was unprecedented.

She added: "We've seen so many faults across the network, thousands of incidents and the time to prepare all of these and to reconnect our customers has been quite extensive."

Some families in west Wales were left without power for five days while National Grid worked to regain power.

Cardiff council said the storm brought down more trees in the city in one night than over the past 20 years, with reports of more than 189 affected on Saturday.

The A487 between Corris and Minffordd has been closed since Wednesday due to concerns about "unstable ground" above the road

Residents of a village in south Gwynedd, north Wales, are having to take a diversion of about 25 miles (40km)due to the closure of a main road after damage caused by Storm Darragh.

The A487 between Corris and Minffordd has been closed since Wednesday due to concerns about "unstable ground" above the road.

The Welsh government said investigations were being carried out and that it aimed to "rectify the problem as soon as possible", but it was unclear when the road will reopen.