Storm Eunice: 'Very lucky' no one hurt as huge 400-year-old oak destroys part of home

19 February 2022, 16:15 | Updated: 19 February 2022, 16:25

A huge 400-year-old oak tree uprooted by Storm Eunice has destroyed part of a family home in Essex.

Dominic Good, 57, was interrupted by an "almighty crash" during a work conference call at his home on Friday morning.

The father-of-two said his family are "very lucky" that no-one was injured after the tree crashed through the roof of their detached house in Brentwood.

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He said: "A big gust just snapped the base of the massive oak tree in our garden, that is probably around 400 years old.

"The whole tree fell on the north-west corner of the house and the roof took the brunt of it.

"The roof is pretty much destroyed, and my son's and my daughter's bedrooms are completely filled with rubble."

Mr Good said his wife Emma, 23-year-old son Sven and son's girlfriend Anna Parnanen had all been working in different rooms of the house in Stondon Massey when the tree came down.

His son's Mazda MX5 car was also "completely crushed" by the branches of the toppled oak.

Mr Good said: "My son was in the room directly below (where the tree hit) so he actually witnessed it.

"He just grabbed his laptop and grabbed the dog and ran out of the room."

The family had predicted there could be some storm damage from the huge gusts of wind but "never expected" that level of destruction.

"I was concerned that a branch might strike the house or something because it was incredibly strong wind, but that was something else," said Mr Good.

"We were very lucky that none of the dogs or the people that were in the house were affected."

The family were able to spend the night in their home but are unsure if this will be possible once the tree is removed.

Mr Good said: "We spent the rest of Friday trying to salvage stuff out of the rooms but everything is covered in dust and rubble and was just a general mess.

"I think probably once they remove the tree from the house they will have to knock down quite a large part of the house and rebuild it.

"We will just have to speak to the insurance company and take it from there."

At least four people have been killed in the UK and Ireland as a result of storm, said to be one of the worst in decades.

The bad weather is set to continue all weekend with the Met Office issuing 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.

On Sunday, a yellow warning for wind is in place for England, Wales, and south-west Scotland, while a yellow rain warning covers Lancashire and Cumbria.