Shaken neighbour describes moment tree fell into Haywards Heath homes

Glen Cheal, 43, rushed outside his home early yesterday morning when he was woken up by an ‘incredible’ noise.

A large oak tree had fallen into two properties in Syresham Gardens. Here is how we broke the news yesterday: Tree falls into Haywards Heath home

You can also watch footage from the scene here: Massive tree smashes into Haywards Heath homes – watch footage from the scene

Glen told the Middy he first thought it was thunder, or a boiler explosion, but when he went down to his garden he realised a tree was missing.

“I was a little bit shaken afterwards,” he said, adding: “It was an incredible noise, very much like a crack of thunder, it was enough to wake someone up.

“I checked on my kids first, it had woken one of them up, and then I checked the house.

“When I went into the garden I looked up at the tree line and I realised there was a tree missing, and then I put two and two together and realised what happened.”

Glen, who lives with his wife and two children, was one of the first people to go to the scene at 6am yesterday morning.

He said: “It was really foggy but I could see that it was a massive tree. My immediate thought was oh my god I am going to have to go in there, and what am I going to find in there?”

Glen said a couple in their 70s who lived at one of the homes affected came outside and were ‘incredibly shaken’. He invited them over to his house for a cup of tea.

The 43-year-old said it was incredibly lucky no one was hurt in the incident. “It is sheer luck,” he said.

He also said it was lucky it did not happen a couple of hours later as a lot of school children use a walkway nearby.

Glen said the fire service were on scene quickly. He said his neighbours had complained about the trees before and that strong winds could have contributed to the incident.