Berwick mum born during 1980s storm gave birth on day Arwen hit

Rachel Young and son Rory on 26 November, 2021, just hours before Storm Arwen

A woman born when a storm hit Northumberland 35 years ago gave birth herself on the day of Storm Arwen.

Rachel Young, from Berwick-upon-Tweed, was given the middle name Gail because it was so blustery in July 1987.

She gave birth to son Rory on 26 November 2021 as the storm made its approach, which caused blackouts and chaos across north-east England.

"In hospital the whole building was shaking - you didn't know what it was like in the outside world," she said.

Mrs Young, 35, was booked in for a caesarean section last November at Cramlington hospital on what was initially a "normal day".

After giving birth to her third child that afternoon, social media was alight with news about the impending storm, before it hit later that evening.

"I remember being at the hospital and in a sense not wanting to leave and although it was shaking you were quite safe and contained," she said.

"My husband, Stephen, was in the bed next to the window and he couldn't sleep because of the draught coming through - it was just so cold.

"We still didn't think it was that bad until the next morning when we started speaking to people who said 'there's carnage everywhere'."

The couple - with their newborn son - met fallen trees on their return home from hospital

After being discharged and returning home in the dark it was a full week before she was able to see the "destruction" for herself.

"I couldn't believe it, there were trees down, walls knocked down - at home you didn't get a real view," she added.

"Knowing that we had had the baby, a couple of friends had taken it upon themselves to come and clear our drive away."

'Lost lobster fleets'

The couple contemplated giving their son the name Arwen due to events surrounding his first few days, mixed with Mrs Young's own blustery birth that led to her namesake, but decided against it.

"In a way, it's a nice connection [we were both born during storms]," she added.

Red and amber weather warnings when Storm Arwen hit in November 2021

Mrs Young's son also shares the same birthday as her mother, Pamela Thompson.

Her father David, who runs a boat business, said he remembered driving to hospital in July 1987 listening to the shipping forecast.

"It was going to be a storm-and-a-half - a horrendous gale - I would have lost at least two fleets of lobster pots," he said.

"I was half-way to the hospital and pulled into a layby in Alnwick, I was trying to decide what I was going to do.

"I sat for five minutes and decided the right thing - the pots could be replaced and Pamela couldn't, so I went down and was there for the birth."

Just months later in October, a powerful storm - dubbed the Great Storm of 1987 - hit large parts of the south of England, which killed 18 people.