Motorist escapes as tree topples

A driver had a lucky esc-ape when a tree crashed down on his car in high winds.

The man, in his 50s, managed to climb free from the wreckage of his Ford Mondeo after the tree fell into Erdington Road, Aldridge, as gusts of up to 40mph battered the Midlands last night.

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A VW Beetle then crashed into the tree. Both drivers were unhurt but fire crews said the motorist in the Ford Mondeo was "extremely shaken".

"He was very very lucky," said Pete Finazzi, watch commander at Aldridge fire station. "If he had been travelling in the other direction or arrived two seconds later there's no way he would have been so lucky."

The road was closed overnight after the accident but the tree was being cleared away today.

There was expected to be a brief respite from the high winds which have battered Britain today but forecasters expect gusts of up to 75mph tonight.