Island gets huge water supply boost from storm

An island notorious for water shortages has captured more than 100,000 litres of rain in 48 hours thanks to Storm Austen.

Lundy Island, located in the Bristol Channel off the north Devon coast, is entirely self-sufficient and relies on a combination of rainwater and boreholes drilled into the granite for supplies.

But the hottest and driest summer on record saw reservoir levels drop as low as 13% earlier this year, forcing the emergency shipments of water from the mainland.

Matt Scantlebury, Lundy Island's manager, described a 20% jump in water levels as a result of Storm Austen as "looking positive at last".

Thousands of homes were left without power, trains were cancelled, and schools were shut as the storm hit the South West on Friday.

At its peak, more than 13,000 properties were affected by power cuts in Cornwall alone.

"The storm has been good news for our water supply," Skantlebury said.

"In 48 hours, we captured over 100,000 litres of water and our tanks are now up to a healthy looking 53.5% full.

"That is a jump of 20% as a result of the storm and 40% higher than our lowest amount four weeks ago."

He added a separate 20% rise was due to the treating of water taken from a pond on the island.

There are 28 people living on the National Trust-owned island, but it also attracts plenty of tourists, who get there by boat or via a helicopter from Hartland Point, near Bideford.

Skantlebury said: "The Oldenburg [ferry] was due to sail on 23 October, but it was too rough for that to happen, and we couldn't use the helicopter either.

"In the end, we had 28 stayers who were due to leave on and were unable to leave until Sunday when the winds dropped enough for the helicopter to fly."

He explained 73 people had been expected to visit the island but the storm weather had ended up delaying their holidays by 24 hours.

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