North Tyneside deal with the damage left by Storm Arwen
Written by Jacob Bolam on 13th December 2021
Buildings all across the North East have been heavily hit by Storm Arwen.
The storm started sweeping across the North East on November 26, and a red weather warning was issued to the general public.
A good number of people woke up the next morning to find slate and roof tiles on the ground of their street.
Homes and other buildings across Tynemouth and North Shields looked to be at the most risk, with them being coastal towns.
Some were working when the storm was at its peak, such as the Salutation Inn pub on Tynemouth Front Street.
Deputy Manager Amber Robertson said: “We were worried for customers being able to get home safely, as we were about our staff.”
Heavy winds meant that the Salutation had lost some of its roofing, resulting in them having to close for the weekend.
“Obviously it’s never a decision taken lightly to close our doors for fears of losing sales and staff needing an income, but the building was simply not safe enough to be in or nearby.”
The pub managed to open again on November 29 but still has its outdoor seating area closed due to scaffolding.
Also affected by the storm was the Daren Persson Stadium, home to North Shields FC.
At the ground both dugouts were destroyed, advertising boards blew away and one side of the ground fence was blown over.
This meant Shields had to postpone their next two games and would have to fix all parts of the ground that had been damaged or destroyed.
North Shields manager Marc Nash said: “I’ve been working in non-league a while now and seen my share of ruined pitches, but nothing like that before.”
Luckily for Shields two of their players, Gary Ormston and Chris McDonald offered to repair the damages, alongside other workers at GBO Building Services.
