THE region's power network operator, Electricity North West, is on hand and prepared for the first named storm of the year, Storm Erik.

Following the yellow weather warning, issued by the Met Office, for Saturday with gales of between 60mph and 65mph Electricity North West has added more engineers on standby ready to respond to any issues.

A spokesperson for the company said "Strong winds can cause power cuts by blowing debris into overhead power lines or bringing lines down. In response, we have added more engineers on standby with colleagues across the organisation monitoring the forecast and poised to respond."

Samantha Loukes, incident manager for Electricity North West, said: “We are always prepared and well-rehearsed, working around the clock to mobilise our engineers during incidents such as this.

“We would urge people that if they do see any damage to our overhead power lines, to please stay away and report it to us immediately so we can repair it safely.

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

Electricity North West offers extra support to customers through their Priority Services Register. Extra support is available to customers if they require it.

You can find advice on how to stay safe and prepared, view live power cut information, and sign up to Electricity North West’s Priority Services Register at www.enwl.co.uk/powercuts.

Customers can also get in touch on social media or by calling 105.