Scartho woman’s horror as tree crashes into her garden
A Scartho woman has been left horrified by the scale of the damage after a tree crashed into her garden during storm Babet.
Emma Broughton, of Brookfield Road, couldn’t believe her eyes when the tree fell in high winds, landing on her summer house and decking. The 8ft tree is now laid across more than two thirds of her garden.
Unable to move the debris for the time being, Emma has been left with the eyesore on her land. However, she is grateful to have escaped injury to her family or damage to her house.
She said: “It had been very windy[1] and myself and my son had already had to go out and put the wheelie bins back up a couple of times. It wasn’t until later that day (Friday, 20 October) at about 10am that I heard another bang. At first I thought it was just the bins being blown over again and I thought nothing more of it.”
However, a few moments later, Emma’s neighbours were knocking on her door to make sure she was all right. “They were hammering to get our attention and I didn’t understand why at first, but then they told me to look in the back garden.”
Although the tree has come to rest, Emma can still hear branches cracking (Image: Grimsby Live)
The tree had toppled over from a neighbouring garden, landing on top of her dog run and summer house. “It was a real shock when I saw it,” said the Scartho[2] woman.
“The roof of the summer house has been destroyed and we’re not sure what can be saved as we can’t even get to it to see. We’re waiting to have the tree removed to see how much damage has been caused underneath.
“When I saw it I was shocked more than anything, I was taken aback by the size of it. When you see a tree upright it doesn’t seem so big, but when it’s laid in your back garden you can’t really comprehend it.” Despite the damage, Emma feels lucky that things weren’t worse.
“I’m just pleased it fell diagonally. Had it fallen forwards it would have taken out my neighbours house and my extension.” Thankfully, her neighbours escaped with just a few panes of broken glass to their greenhouses, she said.
“I’m relieved when I look out the window,” Emma added. “If the dogs were in the garden or if we were in the summer house when it came down, who knows what could’ve happened.
“The whole thing is shocking to say the least and it still startles me when I look out the window. I’m just glad no one was seriously injured.”
With another weather warning in place for today (Tuesday), Emma is hoping to avoid any further drama. “My biggest worry is that the things inside the summer house could be ruined. We’ve got chairs and all sorts in there and we’ve no idea what state they’re in until the tree has been removed.
“We’ve been advised to just stay clear of it all for now, but I keep hearing cracks in the branches and worry that it could get worse if the weather continues. I just hope there isn’t too much damage to my garden when it is eventually removed.”