DRIVERS had a lucky escape on Sunday afternoon when high winds sent a tree crashing into the main road in Sandbeds.

Nearby resident John Throup alerted police after seeing the roadside tree fall across Bradford Road opposite Hargreaves’ garage.

Mr Throup said: “I was watching TV and could see out of my front window. The tree was blowing around, then it disappeared from view.

“Luckily being a Sunday there were no parked cars on the roadside, on a weekday it would have caused much more damage.”

Police directed traffic around the tree for about an hour while a work crew first tried to move the tree, then cut it into pieces to remove it.