Two families had a ‘miraculous’ escape after a 100ft tree crashed down between their homes.
Barry and Creina Mansfield were woken by a ‘loud thud’ at 4am on Thursday. They went to investigate and found their huge red oak across the lawn.
The fence dividing the two houses on Beech Hall Drive, Tytherington, was crushed and there was some damage to their neighbour’s chimney.
Barry, 64, said: "When I saw it I thought I was still dreaming. The fact no one was hurt is something of a miracle. If the tree had fallen at any other angle it could have caused horrendous damage to either house. Our next-door neighbours have a young baby, so what could’ve happened doesn’t bear thinking about. We had a lucky escape."
Beech Hall Drive has many large trees, many of which are protected. The Mansfields have their trees pruned regularly but had been concerned about the oak in the past.
Cheshire East’s Coun Rod Menlove said: "An arboriculture and forestry officer has inspected the tree and discovered white rot in the root system, which combined with the recent wet weather, was probably the reason it came down. The rot was probably caused by honey fungus."
Barry said: "In recent years the tree has been leaning more and we were concerned. This fungus finished the poor thing off. I would warn anyone with large trees, especially near to their house, to keep a close eye on them. We were lucky, but it could’ve been a different story."
