Front of church built in 1883 crumbles in storm

The facade of an historic church, built in 1883, has collapsed following three days of storms.

Reverend Canon Ian Grainger had to cancel Sunday's service when he learned about the crumbled entrance to St Paul's Church in Seaton, which fell during high winds bought by Storm Boelo, which has left thousands of Cumbrian households without power.

Grainger said: "I was just preparing to go round for Sunday morning worship and I got a call from one of my church wardens, who had received a message saying 'do you know the front of your church has fallen off?'"

He said the building had been "battered by storms" and the damage was "strangely everything around the foundation stone", which was laid in 1883.

"When I spoke to the surveyor this morning, he said there was absolutely nothing in the most recent inspection to show that something like this was likely to happen," he said.

Grainger said he was waiting for someone to come round and take a look at the damage, and he would "see where we go from here".

Strong winds tore down dozens of trees amid widespread travel disruption over the weekend, after the UK was hit by two consecutive storms.

Thousands of people still remain without power in Cumbria after Storm Boelo followed Storm Austen is swift succession, resulting in extensive physical damage.

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