Big clean-up gets under way

COMMUNITY PULLS TOGETHER IN WAKE OF STORM

- ETHAN DAVIES

THE first sign of devastation on the Carrbrook Estate in Stalybridge - the area decimated by a tornado on Wednesday night - was the sound of sweeping.

Residents were armed with brushes on Calico Crescent, carrying out their own clean-up yesterday.

But the damage caused by Storm Gerrit has run deep in the estate in the shadow of the moors.

A quick glance around showed roofs stripped away, walls in pieces, car windows shattered beyond repair, and strands of insulation wool clinging to every surface in the street. Vans for tradespeople littered the roads, with insurance assessors also going from property to property.

The scene was one of complete upheaval - but despite that, residents were putting on a brave face.

"The rear elevation has gone," Oliver Jones, 35, said when asked what damage the storm did to his home of nine years. It was the start of a long list.