Residents across Greater Manchester woke up to damage and disruption this Easter Sunday after Storm Dave hit
The fallen tree hit College House in Heaton Moor(Image: Jonathan Stones)
A resident living in a block of flats in Stockport has told of the moment his ‘building shook’ when a huge tree fell onto the property as Storm Dave hit Greater Manchester.
Jonathan Stones, 52, said the tree came down at around 12.30am in Heaton Moor, crashing into College House, a residential building made up of nine flats. He said the tree – one of the ‘oldest and biggest’ on Heaton Moor Road – damaged the roof, brickwork and windows of the building.
Shocking photos show the tree also uprooted part of the pavement outside the flats, which was later cordoned off by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. And don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.
Jonathan, who lives on the top floor, said he initially had ‘no clue’ what caused the ‘huge noise’.
The PR & communications consultant told the Manchester Evening News: “I was in bed watching Heat on Film 4. The wind had been getting up since about 10pm and it was getting pretty noisy. I’d turned the volume up on the TV a couple of times because it was so loud and then about 12.30am I heard a huge noise.
“I didn’t have a clue what it was because I’d never heard something like it before. It wasn’t like a road collision or an explosion, but it was just as loud as either.
“It felt like the building shook so, realising something pretty serious had happened, I got up to look out of my window. That’s when I saw branches pressed up against the glass.”
He said the stairwell had been left covered in ‘broken glass and debris’, with ‘branches sticking through the smashed windows’.
According to Jonathan, no one was harmed during the incident, with the two worst hit flats unoccupied at the time, with residents away for the Easter weekend.
Jonathan said: “The roof and brickwork around their apartments has taken the brunt of it. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for them because it was startling enough from my side of the building.”
He added: “The tree seems to have snapped its biggest branches on the side of the building hitting mainly brickwork and missing most of the windows except three or four.
“The guttering was ripped off, some of the roof tiles and bricks at the top of the building look like they’ve been dislodged. There will be quite a lot of work needed.
“And it looks like one of the neighbours will come home to find their front windows smashed and a couple of branches stuck in their living room.”
As Storm Dave battered Britain, gusts of up to 93mph were recorded in Snowdonia, Wales. Northern parts of the UK, including parts of the North West, were placed under a ‘danger to life’ amber warning.
The severe weather has also caused widespread disruption to rail services across the region. Lines between Manchester Piccadilly and Chester were blocked on Sunday morning (April 5) due to an ‘obstruction’ on the track, with trains cancelled or delayed.
READ MORE: In pictures: Storm Dave brings trees down across Greater Manchester
Meanwhile, Avanti trains were also blocked between Piccadilly and Preston after a tree fell onto the line in Preston, while all lines between Bolton and Preston via Chorley were blocked due to damage to the overhead lines.
Another huge tree came down on Greenacres Drive in Burnage, damaging two cars parked underneath and leaving a street without internet. John Glover, 57, said the tree narrowly missed his daughter Stephanie’s family home on Greenacres Drive in Burnage when it came down at around 10pm on Saturday (April 4).
However, he said it landed on her car outside the house where she and her two children, aged eight and three, were inside at the time. John, who lives opposite, said the impact sounded like a ‘massive crash’.
