'If it had fallen 10ft the other way it would've hit my grandson's bedroom'

A huge tree came down in Burnage overnight – badly damaging two cars and nearly hitting homes

A grandfather has told of his shock after a ‘massive’ tree crashed down ‘just 10 feet away’ from his grandson’s bedroom as extreme winds hit Manchester overnight.

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).

The tree landed on his 36-year-old daughter’s car outside the house that she and her two children, aged eight and three, were inside.

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John, who lives opposite, said the impact sounded like a ‘massive crash’. He said the road has been left without internet, with two cars and fencing left damaged by the fallen tree.

He told the Manchester Evening News: “It just missed my grandson’s bedroom. It’s a massive tree and it has landed on my daughter and son-in-law’s car.

“Luckily it landed on the car. She’s got a massive car. Because of the size of the tree, it would’ve gone through the house. It’s absolutely huge.

“We heard it. I came out because I heard all the screaming and shouting. My daughter was phoning me, because it’s her house that’s affected.

“I thought it was a massive crash on the A6 or Kingsway. That’s how loud it was. It’s bad.”

Police were called to the scene and cordoned off the area. The incident comes after Greater Manchester was placed under a yellow wind warning by the Met Office.

As storm Dave battered Britain, gusts of up to 93mph recorded in Snowdonia, Wales. Northern parts of the UK, including parts of the North West, were placed under a ‘danger to life’ amber warning.

John added: “If it had fallen 10ft the other way it would’ve gone through my grandson’s bedroom where he was asleep.

“It’s taken everything out. It took two cars out, all the fencing up. It’s blocked all the road and there’s no internet.

“We were all out this morning at 6am. We couldn’t sleep because we knew what it could’ve done to the family home.”

John claims he had previously raised concerns about the tree with Manchester City Council. The council has been approached for comment.

Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, emergency services were called to Heaton Moor Road in Stockport in the early hours after a large tree fell onto a residential building.

Photos show the fallen tree had uprooted a pavement outside College House, a block of nine flats, with the property cordoned off by Greater Manchester Fire Rescue Service.

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.

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 are now blocked due to damage to the overhead lines.

Services between Blackpool North and Manchester Airport are also hit, with is expected to last until 1pm.