A Breightmet man says he is ‘absolutely fuming’ after waking up to find his car destroyed and home damaged after a tree fell on his house following high winds brought about by Storm Lilian.

Paul Percival says he was lying in bed when he heard a ‘massive bang’ and his house started shaking due to the tree at around 6am.

A yellow weather warning was in place this morning as a result of the storm, with the Met Office predicting gusts of up to 80mph could occur.

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Speaking to The Bolton News, Paul said: “I remember about three years ago I phoned up [the council] and I complained about quite a large branch that fell off and hit my car.

“It was at that point I realised: this tree’s getting dangerous.”

However, Paul says despite repeated pleas to the council over the course of seven years, the tree remained.

Paul now says his family had to be helped out of his house by the fire service as a result of the fallen tree, which was pressed up against the front of his home.

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He added: “The tree’s still here, I don’t think it’s going anywhere too soon – I’ve been on to insurance, I don’t know whether they’re going to put us up somewhere else while they assess the damage.

“With the pressure of the tree pushing against the dormer, we didn’t know if it was going to collapse the front of the dormer into the front bedroom.

“The tree’s over the front door. We could go out the side door, but our garden’s fenced off, and we can’t actually get out the garden.

“The fire brigade knocked on the door and set they’d help us get out – we had to squeeze underneath the main trunk of the tree that was over the drive.

“They were just making sure it wasn’t going to move any further – they’ve taped it all off, we’re not allowed to go over yet.”.

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.