‘I just saw the tree falling towards me’

A MUM has described her shock after a huge tree fell into her garden, landing metres from her home.

Amy Aldridge, who lives in Fairwater, Cardiff, said the tree, which was 80-100ft tall, “towered” over her garden before it came down early yesterday morning.

Mum-of-two Amy, who has lived at the house for six years, said: “I was shaking and still am shaking. Normally my children would be playing in the garden or I would be putting the washing out on a sunny morning like this. They stayed at my mum’s last night luckily, but it could have ended up so differently.”

Amy, 28, said the tree, which is on privately-owned land, fell into her back garden at her home on Ferrier Avenue at around 7.30am.

Amy, who has a five-year-old daughter and eight-month-old son, said: “I was sitting in my living room and I thought the trampoline had gone flying, as it has ended up in the neighbour’s garden a few times.

“But I looked out of the window and I just saw the tree falling towards me, and ran outside and my neighbour came running out too.”

The tree damaged the metal fence at the end of her garden, but did not cause any significant damage to the garden equipment.

She added: “Nothing like this has ever happened before to me. We have a slide, swings, trampoline, table and chairs, so we spend a lot of time in the garden. When I go to put the washing out, my children are always there.

“My neighbour sometimes comes over with her little boy in the mornings too. It could have hit her as well if we were all out there.”

Amy said the tree was being removed yesterday afternoon, but that she now has concerns about another nearby tree, which is “even taller” than the one that fell into her garden.

She said: “I just want to get the other one sorted now before something happens to it. If that one falls, it probably would hit my house.”

The windy weather which bought down the tree is set to continue in south Wales.

The Met Office said today will start largely dry and bright, with sunny spells. Showers will then move in from the north and could be heavy at times, particularly in the Vale of Glamorgan and further north into the Valleys, affecting Merthyr Tydfil and parts of the Cynon Valley.

Maximum around 10˚C. temperatures will be

Then, through tomorrow, it’s set to continue to be unsettled with further rain from the west. Heavy rain is expected to affect areas such as Cardiff, Aberdare and parts of the Vale. Wednesday will be drier and windy, but showers will hit areas of the Vale and the Valleys. More rain is then expected for Thursday.

The Echo was unable to contact the landowner responsible for the tree last night.