Any high-altitude maintenance work that absolutely must go ahead in the coming days should be undertaken with roof rails and man anchors in place, in light of the severe weather wind warnings covering several parts of the UK, including coastal areas in the north-west.
Gusting winds of up to 60-70 mph are predicted by the Met Office, rising to 80 mph along exposed coastlines on the Irish Sea, and still reaching 50 mph inland.
Many parts of the north-west are expected to be affected in some way, including Blackpool, Cheshire West and Chester, Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Merseyside, Lancashire and Halton.
Significantly, the weather warning for Friday January 3rd was updated midweek to increase the predicted wind speeds – and is followed by a further yellow alert for Sunday.
When strong winds hit, it might not always be possible to delay essential maintenance work – and in fact, the conditions may themselves lead to emergencies that need attending to.
Roof rails are a first form of defence against falling from a structure in strong winds, but adding man anchors as well provides an extra layer of redundancy, for total peace of mind.