Staffordshire family devastated as tree brought down by Storm Dave smashes into house and kills beloved cat
The tree brought down by the storm has forced two families out of their homes.
A Staffordshire family has been left devastated after a large tree crashed down onto their house during Storm Dave and killed their beloved pet cat.
Two Kinver families’ Easter weekend was thrown into disarray when a huge tree fell on their houses on Saturday night (April 4), forcing them out of their homes and resulting in the sad death of Marshall the cat.
Fire crews were called to Windsor Crescent at about 10pm to reports a tree had fallen and caused severe damage to two homes and two vehicles.
Pictures taken at the scene show a large hole in the roof of the two semi-detached houses, and the two vehicles completely crushed.
No people were seriously injured but one of the affected residents, Georgia Butler, told the Express & Star the tree has “destroyed” their house and also killed their pet cat Marshall, devastating her eight-year-old daughter.
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Her daughter had said on Saturday night the cat “means everything to [her]”.
Ms Butler said: “The tree killed my cat and destroyed our house.
“It could’ve killed my children, my family and our wonderful neighbours.”
She said the tree that fell was rotten and had been marked with a metal disc bearing the number 0031 for some time.
The community rallied together in response, neighbours bringing chainsaws and gardening tools to help out.
Ms Butler said she was grateful for friends, family and “people I didn’t even know” who spent “their whole Easter Sunday removing the tree off the cars so that we could remove our cat from the wreckage and give him a burial”.
Ryan Bridgewood, who lives in the other affected house, had told the BBC: “We just heard an almighty crash, it was like an earthquake had hit the house. I've looked at those trees swaying in the wind before and have been worried about them.
"As soon as I heard the bang, I looked outside and saw the tree leaning on the house and I feared for my kids' lives."
The Met Office had warned Storm Dave would bring strong winds on Saturday evening.
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