A falling tree crushed one car and narrowly missed hitting a community centre building at Dalton Barracks in Abingdon today.
The 100ft-tall beech tree, next to Cholswell Road, collapsed onto army buildings at around 11.45am.
Staff and customers at the army community centre café said they heard a loud crack, and rushed outside to see the tree had fallen across the car park, with several large limbs breaking on the roof of a nearby pumping station.
“We were all just sat inside and heard a loud crack, looked out and realised it was the tree outside the community centre,” said Sarah Sheath, 36. "I’ve only just bought my car and now it’s stuck underneath a great big tree.”
Joanna Ritchie, 29, who works at the café, also heard the tree fall. “I’m only calm because I’ve let my husband deal with it all, I’ve just got to get on with it at the end of the day,” she said.
A fire appliance from Abingdon fire station attended the fall. Firefighter Gary Walker said: “We made sure that everyone was safe and nobody was trapped underneath, which fortunately was the case. Now our job is done, we just have to wait for the MOD to clear it.”
Captain Thompson, 41, a unit welfare officer based at the barracks, was also nearby when the tree fell. He said: “There’s not a lot anyone can do apart from ensure that everyone is safe. When I heard the crack, I ran over to see what happened, checked inside the building and made sure everyone was alright.
“We then secured the area and rang the fire service and the army representatives, who will come and inspect the tree and carry out surveys on all the others to check their condition and ensure that something like this will not happen again. Had this happened tomorrow, there would have been mums and tots walking around here. We have been very lucky.”
Army spokesperson Chris Fletcher said the tree would be removed by tree surgeons. "The garrison will be conducting an inspection of all the other trees as a precaution," he added.
