Winds wreak havoc across Bromsgrove district

By Carl Jackson 30/04 Updated: 30/04 16:09

Buy photos » This tree caused damage in Shenstone Close. Picture sent in by Roy Porter. s

HIGH WINDS and rain wreaked havoc across Bromsgrove district over the weekend, causing damage to buildings, bringing down powerlines, causing powercuts, and leading to events being cancelled.

Yesterday morning (Sunday) in Shenstone Close, three 80ft conifers fell victim to the blustery conditions, causing damage to homes and vehicles.

Roy Porter, who lives in the close, witnessed the incidents between 9am and 10am and called the fire brigade after the first tree fell.

He said: "We've always lived in fear of the one tree falling on our own house, so we were getting ready to run outside.

"It was really scary, watching it go down like a spinning top.

"You couldn't describe what it was like to watch it fall.

"It sounded like an aeroplane coming down."

The first tree brushed against a house, causing damage to the roof and guttering.

Mr Porter said he witnessed people leave their home in a taxi just seven minutes before.

The fire brigade had arrived by the time the second tree fell, and residents had been evacuated.

One of the three trees broke in half, falling over a garage and onto the bonnet of the car parked outside.

A Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson confirmed firefighters were sent out to Shenstone Close to isolate electricity supplies and remove the tree from the flat.

She added firefighters were also called out to a number of other incidents over the weekend.

On Saturday, these included crews going to check out a damaged roof in Catshill, a collapsed wall in Callow Hill Road Alvechurch, fallen trees in Woodrow Lane, Bromsgrove, and a large tree that fell onto a roof in Hagley.

Yesterday morning (Sunday), firefighters were called to make a roof safe in Bittel Farm Road in Alvechurch.

Other reports of trees falling, included four in Sanders Park, which are thought to be more than 100 years old.

A roof in Church Street in Bromsgrove Town Centre was damaged and, at the Dodford Inn, tiles being blown off the building left a gaping hole in the roof there. Those falling tiles also damaged beer garden furniture.

Residents took to our Facebook page, detailing incidents of fence panels being blown down and trampolines being tossed around in the breezes.

Several events were also hit by the gale force winds, including the Forget-Me-Not Walk to raise funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma Research. That was due to take place in Sanders Park, but had to be cancelled, as did several football matches across the district, including the LMS Shield Final which was supposed to take place yesterday evening (Sunday) at Bromsgrove Sporting.

On problems with power supplies, a Western Power spokesperson said there were more than 8,000 homes across the West Midlands affected across the weekend, with Worcestershire being one of the worst hit areas.

"We were very busy and there were a number of people affected in Bromsgrove."

He added, over the weekend, teams were drafted in from other areas and, by today (Monday), all of the power had been restored, with workers busy carrying out repairs.