By warrens medical centre just before 8am. Tree or large branch come down on a vehicle. Fire engines in attendance to extricate occupant(s).
Road closed at least in one direction

That's bad.

Not surprised though , as all the trees need a good lopping around there. Branches fly off all the time in windy weather.

Council knows how overgrown these trees are, council does nothing.

When private contractors were brought in to maintain such and the grass verges, the public were asked to inform the council if we were ever concerned about anything. Silly that, because they don't listen !


It can hardly be called an act of God and I'm very sorry for the occupants . Hope it's not fatal.

Went to see if posted in traffic news section and saw mark had posted almost identical post but was last year

Council need to have their own team of tree surgeons who are also let out for public use at reasonable rates.

We are probably still behind on public tree maintenance from the rogue company they used a few years ago.

Many private trees are getting far too big because owners can't afford the huge prices tree surgeons are charging. Their disposal charges are silly money as well.

I got caught up in it this morning. Left my house in Heswall at 10 past eight and got into work in central Birkenhead at 10 past nine - EHHHHHHHHH.

We must be talking about a different council. They seem extremely enthusiastic about lopping branches or even cutting whole trees down for no good reason around here.

Personally I'd be happy to run the risk for the sake of the greenery and pleasure they give. A bashed car seems a small price to pay. If we are that concerned, however, perhaps a strong steel structure or roof could be constructed for the cars to park where trees form a threat.

Shouldn't be --- cut the big stuff for all the sold fuel burners and chip the rest and take to free tips. Garden centre along leasowe road has piles of free chippings. allotments always seem to be after free chippings

I saw a large tree branch fall in Liscard outside Barclays bank about 6 weeks ago and it just missed a woman. The branch must have been hit by a wagon and snapped off, but was caught and held by the other branches. The wind blew and down it came. It only missed her by a couple of inches. She was really lucky.

Let's try to keep the risk in proportion.

Chances of being killed by a tree accident in public space in the UK is 1 in 20,000,000. You are twice as likely to be killed in an air accident and if you buy a weekly lottery ticket, you are 75 times more likely to win the jackpot. You are a thousand times more likely to be killed in a car accident, 40 times more likely to be killed in a train accident, ten times more likely to die after falling out of bed, and twice as likely to be killed by a radiation leak from a nuclear power station.

I'm all for keeping folk safe, but let's try to look at the risk rationally, and improve the most dangerous ones first, before worrying about this very unlikely event.

Anything can be proved by quoting statistics, for instance, statistically speaking, if you have a Heart attack, you're far more likely to survive it if you go to a Cafe instead of a Hospital. As statistically far more people die of Heart attacks in Hospitals than they do in Cafe's

Firstly, Habdad is right in what he says about statistics.

Not a bashed car so far as I know, it was a caved in roof on an Audi. No matter what statistics are, one life lost due to a tree or a branch falling on anyone , is one too many.

Ex, do you get out very often ? Your remark about building structures or roof to protect cars from such events happening is quite odd. Have you been to Arrowe Park Hospital recently or maybe Landican Cemetery area. Hardly able to erect structures to protect vehicles on those main roads or any other main road.

When you mention about them cutting trees down to a stump, that is their way of managing trees, instead of lopping. Huge concern nation wide about this policy. A cheaper option for the companies to gain most profit, but the Council should be monitoring and imo disapproving the policy.

I agree about not cutting the trees completely down (especially as this one was in a park) but I do think they need to be managed and checked. I also think it would maybe make financial sense. The amount of services called out can't have been cheap. The police presence was very heavy along with 2 fire engines, search and rescue, ambulance crews and tree surgeon. The cost also of closing the road and that's not to mention the treatment in hospital. I understand they all come from different budgets but it's all still tax payers money.
The two local papers are running completely different stories on this and it'd be great to get an update. There have been flowers left at the site and I hope that's not a bad sign.
Also worth remembering that a whole tree came down in 2015 on this road again from the park albeit in high winds.

In terms of additional costs its probably not a great lot of money? All those services are already paid for.



Unfortunately that is a pretty big call, they can check for obvious signs of dead-wood or overloading but assessing the strength of the root system and strength of every branch on every tree would be an almost impossible undertaking and humongously expensive.

Unless you remove all trees from places where they are likely to injure someone then I think to a degree we have to take these random events as an act of nature much the same as earthquakes, storms, cancer and suchlike. Obviously basic checks should still be done (as they are at the moment).

Just tragic.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/mum-tree-crash-horror-loses-12163579

Very tragic.

Last Friday night when the heavens opened, all around the area where the tree has collapsed was like a swimming pool (drains not been cleared of leaves) from Thingwall roundabout onwards towards Arrowe Park. I've never seen that corner so waterlogged before and it was seriously bad. Maybe that has contributed to this dreadful happening.

Terrible, I wondered what the situation was when they said she had wizzed to Aintree for assessment, that was the last thing I thought it would be.

Cleaning the gutters of leaves this morning. Not a company I recognise, although the larger vehicles look different . Based in Ellesmere Port
Will this be for the benefit of the assessors to come and inspect, one wonders ?

GOPlant A small vehicle, much smaller than the usual . A Gully Emptier Combi Unit . Self Drive/Hire
http://www.go-plant.co.uk/

Maybe the CEO has re-arranged his Monday morning schedule ?

So sad about her baby. Bad enough luck being hit by the branch but that as well.

Think it was a branch that hit the car not a tree so ground conditions etc may not be contributory factors.
Not the first time along that stretch so one would hope council sorted out inspections if indeed they do such things.

Maybe the ground was not a contributory factor in this case, Fish, but it certainly could be one day. Old top heavy trees in wet and windy conditions.

I am so upset by this terrible tragedy, and something that should never have happened. The authorities knew what their policy is on these trees, they also know that there is a mass of dead would on many of them, and if anyone of those people had an ounce of common sense or a brain cell between them, they would also know the chances of something like this must happen one day. Only after a tragic event, is something preventable done. Same old story. Of course, it doesn't really touch them, as they go about their daily business. That was last weeks news now.
The same won't apply to that young couple who have lost a baby.

I am tired with going on about how trees are not managed. I love trees but having lived through a night like no other and seen how they can cause so much damage in gales and storms, which I've mentioned before, the state that the trees in this area are in is very worrying. Pretending they are dead and cutting them to base, is not the answer either, that's the lazy way.

Just as a matter of interest. If a tree from your neighbours garden is blown through the roof of your bungalow in storm, or breaks your fence or lands on your greenhouse etc.who pays for the damage ?

When next doors storm debris damaged our property, his insurance company said they only covered HIS property and that other people should insure their own. Our own policy appears to have third party damage though, so maybe it varies between policies. (Might actually mean only damage to people though thinking about it , I must check )

Fences (and maybe boundary walls) are sometimes not covered by insurance. I've never heard of a buildings insurance that doesn't include 3rd party liability?

If a neighbours tree damages your property and they don't pay up, you could go and see a solicitor or put in a small claims against them.

Claiming on your own insurance (even though they may claim it from the other insurance company) may affect the price of your insurance in the future.

There is no Act-of-God exclusion on UK policies these days.

Not sure I understand.
So if this was a neighbours tree fallen onto your property, (and probably killed you) Who would be liable ?

Not sure Granny but I have taken out a policy that includes for trees within 5m of house as I have several that although outside my garden fence are in a byway which apparently I have some ownership to in legal terms. Council tree inspector said if the tree fell down across byway and into neighbours garden that I was liable for the bits on either side of the byway and that the council would cut and remove the bit blocking the highway.
If I can remember my construction law days (rylands v Fletcher) then you have a responsibility to "contain" things you have brought on to your land. Not sure if that includes trees.

The owner of the tree is liable, insurance doesn't strictly transfer nor govern liability, its a financial arrangement to help with financial liability.

Thanks DD. That is straight forward enough.

However, Fish, what you say about council policy, so far as I understand is, if their trees on grass verges grow across our gardens, then we are responsible for having them cut back if they are in the way. With that in mind, if we kill the trees in so doing, does that mean we are also responsible for damage to council property ?

The rules need to be shaken up a bit and clarified, so everyone knows the score.

2 men with leaf blowers and I man with pole chainsaw working there today. This road actually has a council parks and garden depot on it.

Very busy at Arrowe Park, cutting back trees along the main road.

Strange really, considering it's taken so long and a fatality before anything is done. Obviously there is a risk of accidents, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it !

Devastating for the family involved. Nothing will appease them.

said this morning that this is tree falling weather. Typically wife leaves her car parked at Thingwall under big trees. Does this storm have a name as it seems more angry than when Barbara came

No, don't think it had a name. There's few dead branches snapped off the trees and landed on the pavement , but that's quit normal. Plenty more left.