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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Paige Oldfield

“It was really scary. We couldn’t sleep the whole night": Storm Franklin rips the front off Tameside house as neighbours hear 'big bang'

A cordon is in place after Storm Franklin ripped off the front of a house in Ashton .

The partial collapse happened on Board Street at around 10pm on Sunday (February 20).

Neighbours described hearing a “loud bang” before seeing bricks and debris strewn across the road.

Emergency services were called and the row of terraced homes was evacuated.

No one is believed to have been injured in the incident.

High winds have caused significant damage to two homes in Ashton (Manchester Evening News)

Police tape and road blocks remain in place this afternoon on Monday (February 21).

A fallen telephone wire and piles of bricks can still be seen in the road as well as on top of a damaged car.

READ MORE: Dramatic pictures show parts of south Manchester left completely underwater after Storm Franklin sparked 'severe flood warnings'

The damage appears to have spread across the front of two terraced houses, with one losing a window to the high winds.

One neighbour, who lives on the row of homes, is the only resident who has not been evacuated.

Vijaya Jagadia recently underwent a serious heart operation and is unable to leave her property.

But the 69-year-old told the Manchester Evening News her home is structurally sound following an assessment by fire crews and council officers.

“We were awake and we heard a big bang,” she said.

Bricks can still be seen in the road (Manchester Evening News)

“I saw the bricks out the window. They went everywhere.

“My daughter was parked there 10 minutes before. I didn’t have my hearing aid in and I still heard it.

“I was scared. I went and woke up my son and told him to look out the window. He came downstairs and helped.

“The fire brigade and police came and blocked the road.

“I had an operation last month so can’t really move.

“The fire people and council people assessed the house and said for was safe. But if anything happens, we have a bag ready.

“It was really scary. We couldn’t sleep the whole night.”

Jane Jones, who lives opposite Board Street, believed the commotion was a car crash at first.

Have you experienced disruption from the storm? Let us know in the comments section.

The strong winds have caused significant damage (Manchester Evening News)

But when she looked through her window and saw a pile of bricks on top of a car, she “panicked”.

“I was one of the first ones to hear it,” the 55-year-old told the M.E.N.

“I just heard a massive bang, we thought someone hit a car.

“I looked through the window and saw the bricks on top of their car and I just panicked.

“There was nothing we could have done.

“All the neighbours were out, the fire brigade came and got everyone out.

“I was worried because it could have been any of our houses. We were more concerned the people were okay.”

Devang Patel didn’t hear the bricks fall but he heard a persistent car alarm and then flashing blue lights.

“The alarm was going on for so long and it was really loud,” he said.

“Then firefighters came and they blocked off the area. They swept it up and police came and it was havoc.

A window also fell off (Manchester Evening News)

“All I could see was firefighters flashing lights and people getting out of houses from the backyard.

“All I was thinking is that I hope everyone is okay and worrying it would happen to this house.”

Stephanie Dillon, 44, remembers feeling “shocked” when she saw fire crews shine a light on the homes.

That’s when she saw the extent of the damage.

She said: “It was just a loud crash, really. My husband thought it was just the wind. Then we looked out of the bedroom window and saw the car.

“We were quite shocked. We couldn’t see the extent of the damage until the fire brigade put the flood light on.”

The incident comes as Storm Franklin battered the region – and more heavy rain and strong winds are expected throughout today.

Widespread flooding hit parts of Greater Manchester yesterday, with a severe 'danger to life' flood warning in place for Didsbury and Northenden.

Heavy rain battered south Manchester (Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)

Hundreds of people were told they may have to evacuate their homes as their properties could be at risk.

A yellow weather warning for wind has been issued by the Met Office for all of Greater Manchester today (February 21).

The warning is in place until 1pm today.

It is possible the adverse weather conditions could cause widespread disruption on the roads and railways.

People in the region have been asked not to travel today, with chaos already reported on the M60 and the M6 this morning.

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