Tree collapses on Uddingston family’s house during storm

May 26 2011 by Alastair McNeill, Hamilton Advertiser

AN UDDINGSTON schoolgirl had a narrow escape after a tree fell on her home this week and pierced its roof.

Fifteen-year-old Emma Gibney had not long returned home from school when the 80ft tree fell on the roof of the Ferry Road house during Monday’s stormy weather.

She had been on the phone to dad Gordon around 4pm when a nearby tree’s trunk snapped and fell on to the house where she lives with him, mum Aileen and eight-year-old sister Beth.

Since the incident the family have had to spend the last few nights in a nearby hotel.

Contracts manager Mr Gibney had been speaking Emma from a service station in Cumbria when the incident occurred.

He had been returning from a business trip to Huddersfield when he called home to find out how they were coping with the bad weather.

Mr Gibney said: “Emma had just been telling me the weather was really terrible and blown-over trees and leaves were lying around when it happened,” said Gordon.

“I heard a noise, a crack followed by a rumble. I also heard a neighbour shouting on Emma to come out of the house.

“The next thing I knew our next door neighbour Grant Wilson was on the phone to tell me a tree had come down on top of the house.

“I think Emma was a bit astounded. The two-hour journey home was the worst of my life. The weather was bad enough. However, I didn’t know what to expect when I got home.”

When Mr Gibney got there Aileen, Emma and Beth, neighbours, his brother Christopher and South Lanarkshire Land Services staff were inspecting the damage .

He said: “All I could see was a lot of foliage on the roof. I didn’t know the tree had penetrated the roof at that point.

“I’ve actually sold the house and had worked hard on doing it up. It was a bit upsetting.

“However, the insurance company reacted quickly and put us up in the Bothwell Bridge Hotel. When the tree was lifted off on Tuesday afternoon there were two holes in the roof and a number of broken tiles.

“We’re still in the hotel at the moment, but we hope to return home on Thursday if a temporary repair can be carried out.

“The building has been assessed and is structurally sound, so that’s a relief.

“I’d like to thank the South Lanarkshire Land Services staff who removed the tree using a crane. They did a great job.”