A patient with cystic fibrosis spent almost a week longer than necessary in hospital because she had to wait for her electricity to be restored after Storm Éowyn.Gypsy Robinson, 22, is on the ESB’s vulnerable customer register.

At its peak 30% of all premises in Northern Ireland had their power disconnected.

The storm brought 100 mile-per-hour winds to the island and also battered Scotland and northern England. Britain’s weather office issued a red warning, its highest level of alert.

Ireland has called in help from England and France to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people after the most disruptive storm for years.