ACROSS the North-East a clear-up began yesterday as life returned to normal following Wednesday's battering by high winds.

Pupils at Lord Lawson School, in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, got an unexpected day off yesterday after part of the school's roof was damaged by the high winds.

Workers spent the day repairing the damage and the school was expected to reopen today.

Firefighters had to remove the roof of the filling station at the Washington Services, on the southbound side of A1(M), after part of it was blown off.

From 7pm on Wednesday, a 25-mile stretch of the motorway between Follingsby, Gateshead, and Bradbury, County Durham, was closed for nine-and-a-half hours after there were 13 crashes involving 20 vehicles in under two hours.

Durham Police said three people were taken to hospital but only suffered minor injuries.

There were accidents in Northumberland, with high-sided vehicles overturning at Berwick and Otterburn and fallen trees in the Hexham area, causing delays on the roads.

A number of roads were blocked in Teesdale by trees which crashed down in the gale force winds during Wednesday night, and power to some farms and houses in the upper dale was cut off for five hours. Dozens of telephones were also put out of action.

Mike Clegg, landlord of the High Force Hotel, said: "The storm was absolutely horrendous. We were really battered, but luckily we came through without any damage.

"We had no electricity for nearly six hours because of power lines being blown down, and that made matters even worse. But it must have been even more dreadful for people in isolated properties."

Haulage operator John Toulston, of Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham, said: "The wind was about as fierce as I've known. A couple of trees were blown over near my house, and sheeting was blown off some lorries. I was thankful when things calmed down."

Several trees fell over the path to High Force waterfall, and the path was closed to the public on Thursday as a safety measure.

A large Christmas tree in the centre of Middleton-in-Teesdale was blown down for the second time in a week, and as the wind relaxed yesterday volunteers were trying to decide if it could be put back up again.

Crews from Durham County Council were called to cut up and remove fallen trees which blocked roads in the dale.

The power went out across several areas of Weardale on Wednesday, with about 800 homes affected. Power lines were blown down at about 12.30pm, although all but 160 had been reconnected by 7pm.