Tree crashes onto second home months after neighbour…

Tree crashes onto second home months after neighbour almost killed by tree fall

A tree has fallen onto a second home in the same residential park in the space of a few months. Judith Adams from Blackpill, Swansea, was left terrified when the tree hit the roof of her park home during Storm Noa winds — three months after another tree crashed through her neighbour's roof.

The second tree fell at 1.15pm on Wednesday, hitting Mrs Adams' bungalow roof in Mill Gardens Residential Park. It did not appear to cause any damage as its impact was softened by a utility pole and wires, but 83-year-old Mrs Adams was left "distraught" by the shock, said her daughter Claire Richards.

Mrs Adams lives five doors away from Maureen Edwards, 71, whose roof was shattered in January by a falling tree which only just missed the part of the sofa where she was sitting. "If I'd been another couple of inches over I would have been dead," said Mrs Edwards at the time.

The tree that fell in January was owned by Swansea Council but the one which blew down on Wednesday was owned by Taylor Leisure Group, the company responsible for the residential park, which has around 80 homes. Mrs Adams and her family believe that tree — which they estimate stood about 10ft from her home — should have been removed from her garden years ago.

"My father has been dead for nine years but it was his greatest fear that the tree would fall on the house," said Mrs Richards, 65. "He was a builder and he liked to see things that were safe. The tree was very tall, about 50 to 60ft high. He always said it was too near the house."

The family claim another tree toppled last year onto a garage at Mill Gardens. They believe some of the trees close to the park homes are susceptible to falling because of their old age and roots "which are not very deep". Taylor Leisure Group told WalesOnline it has been asking since January for the council to allow the removal of certain trees near the site. But the council said the tree that came down on Wednesday was not part of the company's application. "They told us this tree had been surveyed and inspected by their own specialist and was given a clean bill of health," a council spokesman added.

Tree being removed from Judith Adams' property in Mill Gardens (Claire Richards)

Mrs Richards said: "If it had fallen at full force it would have come through my mother's roof. It was only because of the telephone pole that it didn't. My mother rang my husband crying. She's not been in the best of health and this was very traumatic. She's very lucky not to be injured."

She added that council workers arrived within 45 minutes to remove the tree from the roof. No damage was visible although a surveyor will attend to check for any. Mrs Adams said she had wanted the tree to be chopped down since 2007 when she and her husband moved into the home. "I think they should take down any that have a possibility of falling on a home," she added.

The council spokesman said: "The tree that came down yesterday is not on council land but on land owned by the site and it is their responsibility. The site owner has applied to carry out work on some trees on their land but this tree was not part of their application. As far as the trees on council land are concerned we have endeavoured to remove or reduce all the trees along the bank that are within falling distance of the chalets. We will continue to monitor the trees on council land as part of our routine survey work with the next round of inspections due to take place in the summer."

A Taylor Leisure Group spokesman said the company has safety concerns over some trees and it has been waiting since January for the council to allow them to be removed. He did not respond to the council's statement that the tree which fell on Wednesday was not part of the company's application.

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