A mosque tower damaged during Storm Eunice could "easily have killed someone" when it crashed to the ground.
As a result of the gale-force winds that battered Greater Manchester yesterday during the powerful storm, a minaret at Greengate Jamia Masjid in Oldham ended up hanging precariously.
However, it was deemed unsafe to carry out the work yesterday due to the ongoing poor weather.
The mosque had arranged for the minaret - which had been held up by a steel column - to be safely removed this afternoon but, before workers arrived, the tower fell to the ground.
Navaid Afzal, secretary of the mosque, told the MEN that he was relieved no one was hurt, but fears there could be a hefty bill as its roof was damaged by the falling tower.
He said: "I was stood there chatting, and all of a sudden I heard this thunder, and a big crash.
"I thought flipping heck, it was like a plane had come down or something.
"To be honest I can't thank the authorities enough for what they did, they instantly put a cordon in.
"It could have easily killed someone."
Another witness heard a "massive crash" as the minaret fell onto a concrete area near the mosque, damaging the roof on its way down.
Police attended yesterday and erected a 50-metre cordon around the site, and advised nearby residents to stay inside.
Prayers have been held at the nearby Greengate Islamic College while the cordon has remained in place.
The damage to the minaret came as an amber weather warning for strong winds was in force for the region last night.
At least four died in the UK and Ireland during one of the worst storms in decades, which saw gusts of winds of 122mph provisionally recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight.
The bad weather is set to continue all weekend and the Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind covering the entire south coast and south-west Wales until 6pm on Saturday and a yellow snow warning for parts of northern England from 11am until 3pm.
The powerful storm has resulted in planes struggling to land in high winds, damage to the roof of the O2 arena in London, and the spire of St Thomas Church in Wells, Somerset, crashing to the ground.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said previous similar storms have cost around £360 million in repairs.
Hundreds of journeys were cancelled on Friday as people were told to stay at home, and National Rail has warned there is still "major disruption" to services "across most of Great Britain".
Train networks were disrupted by flying debris, while there was damage to buildings and homes.
