A TWO-YEAR-OLD child was among 22 people stranded in a forest overnight after Storm Darragh brought down trees and power lines, blocking their exit.

They were trapped in 8,000-acre Dalby Forest near Pickering, North Yorkshire, and some had to spend the night in the cafe at the Forestry England-managed site.

Andy Widdowson, head of recreation in Yorkshire for FE, who co-ordinated the response from Pickering, said it had been a tiring 24 hours but everyone was safe.

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He told the BBC: "The power was out in the district but everyone had blankets and we broke out our emergency supplies. In the end everyone was fine and we eventually evacuated this morning all safely."

On Saturday afternoon high winds from Storm Darragh led to several trees falling, which blocked all roads to and from the forest.

Nine members of the public and 13 staff were stranded in the forest, which is home to the village of Low Dalby and a visitor centre.

Andy said the team enacted its emergency plan, bringing everyone together at a cafe in the village.

All 22 people stayed overnight, some in residents' homes, some in the cafe and others in FE's own accommodation on the site.

Andy said: "In situations like this we all work together.

"The residents were super kind in bringing supplies over – even to the point of bringing porridge over this morning, supplying bedding and where possible they opened their doors and welcomed people in, which is utterly amazing and we thank them very much."

The forest and village remained without power on Sunday afternoon and Dalby Forest was closed to visitors as the winds were still very high.

The forest remains closed today (Monday) with the clean-up operation underway.

The fourth named storm of the season brought strong gusts to many parts of the country over the weekend, with millions warned to stay indoors.

The Storm Darragh clear-up is well underway in many parts of the UK The Storm Darragh clear-up is well underway in many parts of the UK (Image: Charles McQuillan)

Two men were killed by falling trees hitting their vehicles on Saturday, while the Energy Networks Association said around 118,000 customers were still without power on Sunday evening.

The highest wind gusts were 96mph, recorded at Berry Head in Devon on Saturday.