A man described his lucky escape ten years ago this week after a tree fell on his Chingford home.

A man whose house was damaged when a tree collapsed during severe weather believes he could have been killed if his car had not blocked its fall.

Roger Allop of Cherrydown Avenue, Chingford, was asleep in bed at 12.30am when the 50ft tree was uprooted by 60mph winds on Wednesday, January 4 and caused an estimated £22,000 worth of damage.

Large shards of glass were thrown across his bedroom as the startled 64-year-old woke up in a state of shock.

At first he said he believed stones had been thrown at his window, but he then spotted twigs and branches in the room and realised the tree had been blown over. As he went to inspect the damage he realised his car had taken most of the impact.

Mr Allop said: “It was pretty scary. I was in bed when I heard a huge thud and the sound of glass breaking.

“I was shocked. Massive shards of glass landed a foot or two away from me. If the car had not taken the main blow of it I might not be here now.”

The tree severely damaged his roof and porch, while his company car was completely written off. Mr Allop must wait for the insurance to come through before he can get a new car and return to work as a sales rep.

Firefighters attended the incident and a tree surgeon cut the tree up in preparation for its removal. Mr Allop is staying at the house while repairs are carried out.

Two people died as severe weather hit Britain last week.

A man in his 50s was killed in Kent when a tree collapsed on his van, and a crewman died after being injured on board a tanker in the English Channel.

A bus driver in Surrey suffered serious injuries when a tree fell on his bus.