Tree crashes into property leaving neighbours 'shaking'

Fortunately no one was injured during the incident at Glen Court in Wolverhampton on Thursday afternoon, which left one neighbour "shaking". The tree remained toppled over on Friday.

West Midlands Fire Service attended the scene at 4.22pm and remained there for just over four hours. Wolverhampton Council was also in attendance.

A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said: "Crews were called to reports of trees fallen on to the roof of properties on Glen Court. The incident involved a number of trees that had gone through the roof of a property on the road.

"Our technical rescue unit attended to assess the scene and gave advice. The occupants of the affected property made alternative accommodation arrangements. We were able to confirm there was no structural damage to adjacent properties."

A fire crew from Wolverhampton attended alongside a technical rescue unit from Wednesbury fire station.

Wolverhampton Council sent a structural engineer and its highways teams to the scene.

One neighbour who witnessed the incident said they were left "shaking" and feared their property could have been affected just as easily.

The neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I actually saw it happen out of my window. I heard a lot of wind and a lot of noise and I looked out of the window and saw the tree just start to fall.

"I couldn't tell whether it was the house first or something else, but then the tree just fell towards the house.

"I was absolutely shaking afterwards and I didn't know what damage had been caused. I was just thinking I couldn't do anything to help and I was really shook up and a bit frightened.

"I do know the people who live in the flats and I know that they've been affected by it. I think the one in the house that was hit has gone to his brother's house and I know he was in a lot of shock.

"I've got to give the fire service credit because they were very quick to deal with it and to move away people who are being nosey and having a look.

"I'm scared because I think it could happen to me as well – I've got a tree in my garden and there's a lot of branches that come down sometimes when there's high winds and I don't think the council looked after them properly.

"It could have been high winds, but it looks like it was a dead tree as well as it was not looking very healthy, and I think it was about 40ft long because of the amount of damage that it's done to the house."

A second neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It happened around 4pm and there was a huge bang.

"Like a lot of my neighbours, we thought it was just a loud thunderclap, but I went to the window because it was very loud and that's when I saw the tree.

"I think it's awfully bad luck for the people in those homes and I hope they're ok.

"I'm feeling ok, but I feel really sorry for the people who live in the properties as it's an awful thing to happen to them and the people on both sides were affected by it.

"We're all a bit shocked and it was a loud noise, so it was more frightening than anything else, plus it's concerning because we've all got trees like that in our gardens.

"I thought the fire service were absolutely brilliant in how they reacted quickly to this.

"There were three fire engines here and a lot of firefighters and they managed to secure the place and make sure the house was safe.

"A special unit came along to make sure that the house was structurally safe and I was very impressed by their work."

The tree that fell was on private land but Wolverhampton Council will be speaking to the land owner to make sure the area is safe.

Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for environment on Wolverhampton Council, said: "The tree that fell at Glen Court is on private land and is not owned or maintained by the council. Even though this is the case, we are still concerned about those properties and residents – which is why we’ll be speaking to the landowner to make sure the area is safe to give residents peace of mind.

"When the tree uprooted it caused some damage to the public highway, appropriate emergency measures were put in place to ensure public safety."

Additional reporting by Jamie Brassington