With 8m trees down in Northumberland, organisers left with little choice.

Storm Arwen has wreaked significant damage upon the established trail networks in Northumberland.

With wind speeds of up to 115kph, Arwen flattened trees and disrupted power lines, leaving some areas without electricity for a week.

Followed by storms Malik and Corrie, the Coquet valley, which traditionally hosts the Naughty Northumbrian, is dealing with immediate infrastructure issues. As such, organisers of the Naughty Northumbrian have announced a postponement of the event.

Read more: the best British trails

Trails are unrideable

Analysts estimate that nearly 8m trees have been knocked over by the three storms, compromising many years of trail building work.

Organisers of the Naughty Northumbrian managed to survey the damage and walk trails scheduled for the event, which left them in doubt to postpone.

The Naughty Northumbrian’s postponement now becomes the third mountain bike event suffering weather influence. In 2019, the Ardrock and Malverns were similarly influenced by adverse weather.

Naughty Northumbrian riders will be refunded

For those 750 riders who had entered and were keen to sample some of the best singletrack riding on offer in the UK, organisers will be processing full refunds. Riders can expect appropriate communication on how this will proceed in the following days.

With its steep EWS black rated trails, the Naughty Northumbrian is a highlight for enduro riders. Featuring six stages, 1600m of climbing and 50km of riding, the Naughty Northumbrian offers a very compelling enduro mountain biking experience.

Event organisers had planned to limit single-use plastic and run as sustainably as possible for the 2022 Naughty Northumbrian. Hopefully, these new protocols can still be put to the test – soon enough.

With wild weather fluctuations, Naughty Northumbrian organisers have also recognised the possibility of considering different dates, for the event.