THOUSANDS of homes across Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, and Carmarthenshire remain without power as recovery efforts following Storm Darragh face significant challenges. Tree-cutting specialists are working around the clock in some of the toughest conditions seen in decades to clear fallen trees from power lines.

Speaking exclusively to The Pembrokeshire Herald, Jeff Birch, director of Birch Utility Services, detailed the scale of the task his team faces.

“This is one of the most challenging periods we’ve seen in years,” he said. “I can understand people’s frustration as we rely so heavily on electricity, but the devastation is immense. I’ve been in this job for 40 years, and the last time I experienced anything like this was during the hurricane of October 1987.”

Birch Utility Services, established 16 years ago in Pembrokeshire, has grown to become the UK’s largest utilitarian tree-cutting company, with over 300 employees. Their work supports National Grid by clearing trees from power lines, a task made harder by widespread road blockages.

“A lot of the equipment is on the ground, and many power lines are at the end of long private lanes,” explained Birch. “In some cases, we spend an entire day clearing debris before we can even start on the trees. It’s not just about reconnecting wires — the work requires isolation, shutting off power, earthing, and permits. This all takes time, and we’re dealing with thousands of incidents across a vast area.”

Non-stop recovery efforts

Birch’s team has been working 24/7 since the storm hit on Friday night, bringing in additional teams from the Midlands to assist.

“Our staff are rotating shifts to maintain round-the-clock operations,” Birch added. “Their dedication is remarkable. They’re motivated by the knowledge that people out there have no power, no heating, and may be feeling scared. We’re doing everything we can to restore power as quickly as possible.”

National Grid response

National Grid confirmed that 26,959 customers across South Wales are still without power, with teams working tirelessly to restore supplies.

“Our engineers, control rooms, contact centre, and support teams have been working around the clock to maintain power,” said Emma Philpin, National Grid’s director of Customer Excellence.

“We’ve seen extremely high call volumes, and it’s taking longer for customers to get through. We thank everyone for their patience and understanding. Rest assured, we are doing everything possible to restore power across the region as quickly as we can.”

Storm Darragh’s aftermath has left communities grappling with widespread disruption, but recovery teams remain committed to restoring essential services under challenging circumstances.

THE AFTERMATH of Storm Darragh continues to disrupt life across Carmarthenshire, with many residents still without power and essential services despite the storm having passed.

Since Friday evening, Carmarthenshire County Council staff, alongside local communities, have been working tirelessly to address the extensive damage caused. Efforts to clear approximately 300 fallen trees have seen significant progress, with most A and B roads now reopened. However, work on minor and unclassified roads is expected to take several more days.

Support centres open late
To assist those affected, Carmarthenshire’s leisure centres in Amman Valley, Carmarthen, Llandovery, Llanelli, Newcastle Emlyn, and St Clears are open as drop-in centres until 10:30pm tonight.

Services available include:

• Warm spaces and hot drinks
• Charging points for electronic devices
• Hot water for filling flasks
• Shower facilities

Community effort praised
Council home care staff have been commended for going beyond their usual duties to support vulnerable residents. However, the Council has reported an unprecedented number of property-related issues following the storm. Residents are encouraged to report non-urgent repairs online and to contact the emergency line at 01267 234567 for urgent concerns.

Cllr Darren Price, Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council, praised the dedication of staff and residents:

“I am humbled by the efforts of our staff who have gone above and beyond to deliver essential services during this challenging weekend of Red, Amber, and Yellow Weather Warnings. On behalf of the County Council, I want to thank them for their incredible work. You are a credit to Carmarthenshire, and we are deeply proud and grateful. Diolch o waelod calon.”

Stay updated
Residents are urged to follow the Council’s website and social media channels for the latest updates on recovery efforts and available support.

HEARD the story about the ‘major’ car crash in Tesco’s car park, Cardigan?  The one where no one was hurt and no vehicles were damaged?

Or how about the story where a Cardigan street was recently pronounced as having the slowest average broadband speed in the whole of Wales?  Except the ‘street’ is nowhere near Cardigan at all, but a hefty seven miles away – in Ponthirwaun.

Now, as hundreds of disgruntled Cardigan newspaper readers are becoming increasingly disillusioned at the ‘click-bait stories’ appearing in their 158-year-old local paper, another online publication is proving a farcical force to be reckoned with.

Enter the ‘Teifiside Aggravator’.

This week The Pembrokeshire Herald met up with the Aggravator’s creator and editor for an exclusive insight into what prompted its heady arrival into the ever-changing world of online media.

“It all started when I began to realise that so many of the news articles in the local paper were just pure nonsense,” he said.  (And before anyone starts wondering who was being interviewed, the editor wishes to remain anonymous.  All we know is that he’s male, 24 years old, and has lived ‘near Cardigan’ for the past 15 years).

“Take that car crash story in Tesco’s car park … it was a nothing story, because nothing had happened.  It was just a tiny little bump.  And yet it hit the newspaper with a big headline.

“I also began realising how much misinformation is being fed to each and every one of us, and the social implications that this means as a whole.

“Globally it’s such a huge issue, so I wanted to see what the limits are.

“This week many of us have been affected by the power cuts and I’ve been offline for two days.  And this made me realise that the global issues which we’re bombarded with are suddenly irrelevant – the most important things are the things that are immediately around us.

“And it’s not just a manipulation by the media but all those other influencers, including the Government and everyone with a lot of reach.”

Which brings us neatly back to the Teifiside Aggravator.

Its first story, published on November 25, 2024, told of the controversial plans to replace Llechryd’s historic bridge with a £1.5 million flood-resilient structure built by a Chinese construction firm.  Then there was Emyr the heroic sheep (soon to be honoured in the local Eisteddfod), who saved the life of a six-year-old child on a farm in Synod Inn closely followed by Cardigan’s acute sourdough shortage coupled with the locals’ failure to put the lids back on their marmite pots.  Last but by no means least came Cardigan’s ‘bauble-based blunder after borough bigwigs bungled their budget with its plastic Christmas tree (Don’t you just love the Aggravator’s use of alliteration?)

The articles are beautifully composed, highly entertaining and ever-so-blatantly tongue in cheek, thanks to the candid thought processes of the editor.

“Very single article is written by AI,” he laughs.  “Obviously the ideas are all mine and I give AI very firm instructions on how they should be written, usually with a fair bit of alliteration and the occasional stupid word dropped in.  It usually takes around ten takes before I’m happy with the story but the interesting thing is, I’m still not sure whether everyone who reads my stories realises they’re fake.  

“For example, people shared their disappointment over the Christmas tree story and the town council’s decision to erect a fake tree instead of a real one, and loads more people were extremely upset at the fact that Lechryd bridge was going to come down.

“But once people figure out that the stories are false, they find them funny.  And to date, I haven’t seen anything negative in the way they’re being presented.”

One can’t help comparing the Teifiside Aggravator concept with that of Barri Bryth, Ceredig Pysgod-Jones and Gito Goch who are the unstoppable reporters responsible for Pembrokeshire Cachu News and its satirical news sensations.  Since launching in 2020, the online news site has amassed over 10,000 followers.

“Yes, it’s quite entertaining to see people fall for my stories and believe that they’re true, but it’s made me realise that these people are no different to me. There’s probably someone out there laughing at my expense when I read what they’ve written, believing it to be true.

“Misinformation is such a big thing at the moment, with people telling us what we should be eating or who we should be supporting or not supporting.”

Speaking with the Aggravator, it soon becomes apparent that whoever is responsible for its creation is an exceptionally logical, clear-minded character.  Despite still being offline as a result of the power cut, he was already working on his next story.

“Every story is about current events, but how they are presented may differ from reality.  And this is because I feel that we should be focussing on the things that are directly in front of us in real life, and stop allowing ourselves to consume anything without critical thinking.

“At the end of the day, virtually everything around us is manipulated, even the article that you’re reading at the moment.  The person who wrote it may not have understood everything in the context of how it was said, or perhaps the person who was interviewed just gave out snapshots of what was meant.”

Meanwhile, even though the Aggravator’s origins were inspired by the shortfallings of the local newspaper, the editor has now left those shortcomings firmly behind.

“I don’t care about the local newspaper any more – I’ve left that one behind,” concluded the Aggravator.

“ All I’m interested in is opening people’s minds to what’s going on in the information we’re being given on a constant basis.”