A 30-foot tree has fallen during Storm Darragh trapping a family in their home in Swansea. Jade Carver, 27, says she has been trapped in her home in Ravenhill since Saturday evening after the huge tree was uprooted in her front garden at around 7.30pm.
Jade said she called the council for help but because she is not in immediate danger she has not been prioritised due to a backlog of storm incidents. She says she has been trapped in the council house and hasn’t been told when the tree can be removed.
The mother-of-two told WalesOnline she had been scared of the tree falling for years and had decided to sleep in the lounge at the other side of the house on Friday evening with her children because she thought the tree might fall and hit the house.
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Jade says she’s been frightened of the tree falling for some time -Credit:Jade Carver
The tree, Jade says, is trapping Jade and her children in the house -Credit:Jade Carver
“I asked for the tree to be cut down years ago,” Jade recalled. “It’s a big tree and I’ve always been worried about it. We’ve all been scared about the tree – so much so we slept in the living room. We all slept downstairs because I felt it was safer in there altogether. I always presumed it’d come straight for the house. I’m quite lucky it missed the house.
“The kids were petrified when it happened. The wind was loud anyway but I have a gate on the side of the house so thought initially the gate had ripped out the wall. My son came screaming into me saying the tree had fallen down. I didn’t know what to do. The kids were screaming. I just started ringing family and friends asking what to do.
“It’s so big. The pictures don’t do it justice. It’s massive. Currently my garden wall is laying on top of the tree so it’s a big job to move it and it’s probably going to take a while.”
Jade says the tree is still lying on its side across her house and the neighbour’s drive and she doesn’t know what to do -Credit:Jade Carver
The scene at the house in Ravenhill, Swansea -Credit:Jade Carver
Jade said she has been unable to get out of her home since the tree fell. “I feel trapped,” she added. “It’s blocked all access to the house. It’s going right across my garden and into my neighbour’s drive.
“I rang the council and they told me to ring highways. I rang them last night but they said they couldn’t come out. They did say they’d try and get someone out today but I haven’t had anyone come out at all.”
As winds reached more than 90mph in parts of Wales over the weekend Storm Darragh ripped the roof of nearby Briton Ferry rugby club. Chairman Kerry Frey told WalesOnline it was lucky no-one died in the incident, which you can read about here.
There were similar scenes across the country on Saturday, including at Pentre Chapel in Mochdre, Powys, which also had its roof completely blown off. Jonathan Rees of the local young farmers’ club thanked the community for their concern and response.
It is going to stay windy on Sunday evening but winds are expected to ease overnight. Isolated showers are likely for a while but much of Monday is expected to be dry and feel cold. Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news. You will receive updates from us daily.