A DISABLED dad has told how he begged the council to chop down a rotten tree outside his house for years before it collapsed and crushed his £20,000 classic car.
Shaun Watts believes he’s the “unluckiest man in the UK” after falling victim to Storm Darragh last Saturday – the second time the weather has caused him havoc this year.
Over the summer, a tornado dragged away his mobility scooter and other belongings, and they were flung across a golf course while he was on holiday.
The large nuisance tree blew over and shattered the windows of his precious Ford Fiesta XR2I outside his motorhome in Sandwell, Staffordshire, last weekend.
It also crushed the roof and caused bonnet damage, while the boot was completely destroyed.
Shaun was trapped in his house for five hours from 7pm after the smash, with a heavy branch blocking his way out.
He told The Sun: “The bang was horrendous, half the street came out to see what had gone on.
“Everyone was shocked, absolutely shocked.”
The tree debris covered his front door and due to his disabilities, Shaun was unable to duck under it to get out.
As a result, he was stuck for hours before emergency crews arrive to free him.
When he could finally get out he saw that his beloved car had been destroyed.
“It’s a 1987 car, getting parts for it is a nightmare, it’s completely written off,” he said.
The single dad said Tipton residents had been complaining to the council about the tree for “well over a decade”.
Rot and mould had ruptured the tree root and Shaun had demanded it be taken down.
He added: “You could pick the bark up with your hands and it would crumble away.
“Like a biscuit in a tea.”
Residents had demanded it be chopped down for decades but it was reported that the council refused to remove the tree on Cotterills Road until it had fallen down naturally.
True to their word, last Saturday they came to retrieve it from on top of Shaun’s car.
This isn’t the first time the hapless dad had seen his world turned upside by severe weather.
Exactly six months prior to the tree falling – on June 7 – he was struck by a tornado while holidaying with his dad.
The pair were in their campervans in Ynyslas, Wales, when a mini-twister suddenly flung their belongings across the golf course they were staying at.
Shaun said the wind was so strong his entire mobile home achieved air time – which rocked him awake as he fell out of bed at around 6.30am.
He said “It was like a lion roaring.
“Honestly, it felt like being hit by a lorry the way the campervan lifted up.
“We have been camping here for three days and thought it was quite a sheltered spot near the sea wall.”
His mobility scooter was dragged across the field and an entire frying pan was picked up by the wind and bent in half.
The next day Shaun and his father had to scour the area for their belongings which had been hurled across the span of the golf course.
The tornado only hit a tiny area in mid-Wales but Shaun just happened to be one of the unlucky victims.
He said he was “a little shaken up but okay”.
The Sun has approached Sandwell Council for comment.
