AS Storm Doris left a trail of destruction across the county last week we’ve taken a look back through our archives to when the hurricane of 1987 hit Halstead.

Hundreds of homes in the town and the Colne Valley area were left without heat and light for more than a week after the devastating storm passed through in October that year.

Power supplies were knocked out by winds of up to 100mph – the worst hurricane force winds since records began.

Fallen trees, power lines and flooding blocked roads across the area.

Thousands of pounds of damage was caused to buildings and schools and shops were closed.

Phone lines were taken out and people were even unable to dial 999.

Six cars and a brand new caravan were all written off in Box Mill Lane in Halstead after eight trees crashed down near homes.

At the time Muriel Flannery told the Gazette: “I saw one of the trees come down just before 7am. It was terrifying – I haven’t been so scared since the war.”

Halstead policeman PC Derek Gargan also had a lucky escape during the hurricane when a large oak tree fell in front of his car in Hedingham Road.

He did not have time to stop and the vehicle hit the tree – the car was left damaged but Pc Gargan was unhurt.

Ten years on he told the Gazette of his experience. He said: “It hit the road a couple of feet in front of me and stopped an inch away.

“The tree spread itself over the car and I could not get out. There must have been ten tonnes of wood just above me.”

Farms and orchards across the Halstead area were left devastated by the hurricane.

Earls Colne Fruit Farm feared it could be ten years before parts of the farm recovered.

More than 1,000 apple trees were knocked down by the strong winds and £20,000 of apples were lost in the storm.

Famer Faith Tippett told the Gazette: “In some areas we will have to start from scratch.

“It could take us between seven and ten years to completely recover.” Orchard owners were given £2 per tree in compensation in a bid to help farmers.

The National Farmers Union branch in Earls Colne was inundated with insurance claims but one year on from the storm many farms were returning to normal.

Volunteers and council staff ensured people didn’t go without a hot meal while the power was out.

More than 200 hot meals of sausages and potatoes were delivered to people in Earls Colne.

In the south-east of England 30 people were killed during the storm, one in six homes suffered damage and 3,000 miles of telephone lines were brought down