A FURIOUS resident said her children “could have been killed” after a huge oak tree came crashing into her garden crushing her summer house in the middle of the night.

Marra Cheese, 44, of Cutler’s Place, Colehill, claimed she spoke to the parish council on numerous occasions about the condition of her tree behind her garden and couldn’t believe she had to claim for losses on her home insurance.

Bournemouth Echo: A tree came crashing into Marra and Stephen Cheese's garden

She said: “On a few occasions, we have had bits of wood fall down, six years ago a limb fell into the house.

“My husband has been telling them for years because it has been edging nearer and nearer the house.

“At 4am on Monday we heard this awful noise, the most horrendous noise ever.

“Our electricity had gone out because the tree went right through the summer house. It covered our entire garden.

“The kids were horrified, I was an absolute wreck. I did scream, apparently people thought someone was being murdered.”

Marra said she couldn’t get hold of anyone at the parish council until she spoke to a councillor on her road.

She said nobody came to visit until Tuesday and they were told they’d have to claim for losses on their own insurance.

“It is pretty clear that what came down was pretty rotten,” she continued.

“The parish council said it was storm damage but there was no storm.

“It could have killed us, it could have killed my kids. Only last month we stayed in the summer house to sleep.

“It wasn’t even like it was a branch, it was a 70ft tree that fell down.

“They need to check all the trees in Churchmoor Copse. Will it take a life to be lost before they check the trees properly? They need to take some responsibility.”

Bournemouth Echo: A tree came crashing into Marra and Stephen Cheese's garden

A spokesperson for Colehill Parish Council said: “When a tree or branch falls into a garden it is the tree owners responsibility to clear the debris, as they still own the wood. The house owner then has to claim on their house insurance for any damage caused.

“If the tree can be shown to be diseased or dangerous then the insurance company may seek to recover their costs from the tree owner.

“In this particular case the tree had been professionally inspected recently and assessed as healthy. This was confirmed to us by the tree surgeon who removed the fallen branch on Tuesday.

“Before the land was transferred to us, Dorset Council conducted a tree inspection on this particular tree and all the trees adjacent to houses in Cutlers Place, and there were no outstanding tree issues at the point of transfer.

“Since then, we have had no contact of any kind from the family concerned about the tree.

“When we heard about the falling branch in the early hours on Monday morning we were in contact with the family before 9am and mobilised very quickly to visit the site that morning. We arranged for a tree surgeon and his team to remove the debris on Tuesday morning.

“We have offered our sympathies to the householder and recognise that a situation like this will be stressful for those concerned.

“All the woodlands we own are professionally inspected on a regular basis, and any required tree works undertaken in line with the recommendations made.”