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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
National
Olimpia Zagnat

Storm Dudley: Family 'could have been killed' as tree crashes into house in Wollaton

A dad has described the moment he realised a 25ft tree had crashed into his home in the wake of Storm Dudley.

The home owner of the property in Harrow Road, Wollaton, was left stunned when he left the house on Thursday morning (February 17) to find the aftermath the chaos from overnight.

Remarkably, the family passed the damage off as a "loud noise" in the night and thought no more of it.

The dad-of-two said: "My partner and I were asleep in the room at the back of the house.

"We woke up in the middle of the night to a loud noise but we did not actually check it out.

"In the morning I went in the backyard to leave the dog out and noticed that the bins were on the ground - so thought that maybe it was the bins that made the noise."

He explained he saw the huge tree, which had fallen in the strong winds and hit his house, when he left the house to get into the car.

The dad, who asked not to be named, added: "We cannot asses the costs of the damage yet - it is probably the rooftop that will need repairing.

The tree hit a house in Harrow Road, Wollaton. (Nottingham Post/Marie Wilson)

"There was also some debris on my car's windscreen.

"It is concerning because the tree was very stable and healthy but it was pulled out from the roots."

He went on and said: "My partner said that it could have been dangerous, I think I am quite relaxed.

"The children saw it this morning and said 'look, daddy, that is what the noise was'."

The tree is thought to be 25ft tall.

Strom Dudley resulted in a number of fallen trees in Wollaton and Ruddington, as well as in Mansfield.

Thousands of homes were left without power after Storm Dudley swept through parts of the UK.

Nine flood warning were issued elsewhere across the county on Thursday afternoon for the Severn and Wye estuaries.

Meanwhile, neighbours in Wollaton spoke about the damage to the house.

Elena Goldman, 51, said: "These trees are absolutely gorgeous. What if someone was passing by right in that moment? It is awful just thinking about it.

"It is absolutely terrible. It is going to get worse - it is quite scary."

Darren Bolger, who was riding his bike and stopped to take a look at the fallen tree, added: "I think it is just disgusting that neighbours are put in so much danger because of the trees and the storms.

Resident Darren Bolger pictured at the scene. (Olimpia Zagnat)

"If someone was passing by or was in the proximity of the house they could have been killed."

The 45-year-old added: "It is very scary for all of us."

More bad weather is expected with the arrival of Storm Eunice.

The Met Office has issued a rare red weather warning for parts of the UK on Friday and said there could be “flying debris resulting in danger to life”.

Storm Eunice is expected to bring winds of up to 70mph in Nottingham.

The red weather warning has been issued along the coastline of Devon and Cornwall as well as the south coast of Wales due to extremely strong winds.

Meanwhile, an amber warning remains in place for most of England - including Nottinghamshire - and all of Wales as Storm Eunice arrives on our shores from Friday morning.

The warnings are in place all day Friday until 9pm.

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