A DAD-of-four has described how he has been left in more than £85k debt after his neighbour’s “dead” tree crashed into his back garden.
James Williams, 45, says he repeatedly told Bristol City Council the 30ft ash tree in the council allotments, next to his garden, needed to be felled.
SWNSDamage to James’s summer house after a tree fell on his garden[/caption] SWNSA dad faces a hefty bill after he sued his council – and lost – over a “dying” tree which fell and destroyed his garden[/caption] SWNSJames Williams, 45, says he repeatedly told Bristol City Council that the tree needed to be felled[/caption] SWNSThe school caretaker claims his family would have been killed if they were inside the pool at the time[/caption]But the man from Bristol said his pleas fell on deaf ears for eighteen months.
The massive tree eventually came crashing down – smashing through the family’s newly completed swimming pool, a trampoline and a summer house.
The school caretaker claims his family would have been killed if they were inside the pool at the time.
His home insurance only covered £3,400 out of the £28,000 of damages to his garden in total, he said.
So James decided to pursue legal action.
The court ultimately decided the council was “not liable” for the damages – because the council worker’s decisions over the tree were “competent” and “appropriate”.
Leaving James and his family more than £85k in debt – £8,000 quoted for garden repairs and £77,000 owed to the council in court costs.
James said: “We could have been killed by it if we were outside – I still have nightmares about it.”
In May 2019, a representative from Bristol City Council visited the family home after James’ wife, Leanne, 43 reported that large branches from the tree were falling into their garden, he said.
“They came out, looked at it, and promised to cut the tree down,” James claimed.
A month later, Leanne made another complaint after hearing the tree might have had ash dieback disease and that it was “dead”.
The council’s tree officer visited again in June, and in their assessment said there was ‘die present in the upper and middle canopy’.
But that there were ‘no other signs of significant disease’ – and ‘no imminent risk of failure to the stem of the tree’.
The tree officer suggested the tree should be “monolithed” that September.
This involves the removal of all the branches and the reduction of the tree trunk to a height of four metres or less.
Despite these assurances, the tree was never felled – or monolithed – and it became an increasing worry for the Williams family.
On October 3, 2020, the tree fell.
“We were literally going to fill the pool that morning to use with our children – I still have nightmares about the fact that if it had held on for another 12 hours, it may have killed us all as we would have been in the swimming pool,” he said.
Commenting on the fall, Leanne, a stay-at-home mum, said: “It was like a scene from The Wizard of Oz.
“The pool and trampoline had been completely crushed and there was smashed glass and wood everywhere from the summer house.”
Initially, Bristol City Council sent someone around to remove the tree and admitted liability, James said.
However, a few hours later, he alleged that a council member, the same one who assessed the tree months prior, arrived and denied the council’s responsibility, attributing the fall to a storm.
James was left “furious” and said the garden had been “basically ruined.”
James lodged a civil claim at Bristol County Court against the council which went to trial in February this year.
James and Leanne claimed that the tree officer sent to the property was ‘negligent’ in their assessment in that they did not decide to undertake further ‘urgent’ investigations.
Despite this, the judge was ‘not persuaded’ that the council’s tree officer had ‘missed anything visually’, according to the court’s judgement.
And further stated that the decisions made by the officer were within ‘a range of reasonable decisions’ a body of tree officers would regard as appropriate.
The case was dismissed and the council were deemed not liable.
The ordeal has been particularly stressful for James’ wife, Leanne, and her two children from a previous partner, Sienna, 15, Scarlett, 12, and James and Leanne’s children Emmi, four, and baby Maya, one, all of whom live in the same house.
Leanne had only just given birth days before when the tree came down while it was also during the peak of lockdown.
“It was the worst possible timing to not have a garden,” James said.
“We were going to fill the pool that day – I got up early in the morning, and when I looked out, it was a shock.”
“The tree had hit the wall of our daughters’ bedrooms, It has all been a nightmare.”
Four years later, James said: “The garden is still dishevelled and we’ve started clearing away the brambles and debris.
“But considering we now have to do this all on our own, it’s going to take even more time.”
The Sun has approached Bristol City Council for comment.
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