A couple in their 70’s watched as a ‘beastly’ tree fell onto their bungalow and destroyed their home.
Sue and Mick Roberts were at home on Shrewsbury Road in Oxton on Friday while Storm Eunice wreaked havoc across Merseyside and beyond.
Earlier that day Mick, 76, had expressed concerns to his wife over the tree which stands directly in front of their bungalow in Wirral.
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Nick grew increasingly worried for his home's safety and called his wife to the porch to watch as the ‘30 to 40 foot’ tree swayed and began uprooting from the ground.
After just 90 seconds of observing, Sue said the tree fully detached from the ground and came ‘crashing’ towards their home.
Sue, 75, told the ECHO: “My husband had been worrying all morning about the tree. First the garden wall had came down on the drive because of the winds and then mick shouted 'come and have a look at this'.
"I looked at the tree and just said 'oh my god'. We must have been stood there about a minute, not even two when we watched from our porch as it swayed and toppled over onto our roof - there was a huge crash."
Sue and Mick 'ran' to the back of the house to take cover and were left 'in shock' and ‘very shaken up’.
When they felt safe to assess the damage, the couple walked through their home and discovered the tree had landed right on top of their grandchildren's bedroom and caused 'extensive damage'.
Sue added: "We're just grateful the kids weren't in there as their room is completely ruined."
Sue and Mick stayed in the back of their home on Friday night, but the following day were strongly advised by a surveyor to move out as the house was unfit to live in and have since moved in with their son.
The impact of the tree has caused further damage to the walls on the interior of the home, as well as cut off electricity supply to the house.
Sue added: “It's completely ruined one bedroom and the tree fell through the en-suite and right through the bedroom. The bedroom ceiling came down into the hallway. It's going to be a very expensive job."
But while the house is now a 'building site' and could be that way for 'months rather than weeks', Sue said they are most concerned about the memories and 'cherished possessions' inside the home.
The 75-year-old said: "The likes of furniture you can replace them, but we don't want to lose any of our precious possessions. I'm 76 this year, Mick is already 76, that is 76 years worth of memorabilia we just don't want to lose."
The couple were supposed to be going on holiday with their family this week, however have had to cancel while they see to the damage of their home and attempt to rescue as many of their memories as possible.
While the house is undergoing significant work, Sue said the family are taking it in turns to camp out there but it ‘could be months’ until the home is fully repaired.
