'It's a miracle no one was killed': Man describes hair-raising moment roof crashed down onto Slough street

Bronwen Weatherby14 January 2020

A man has described his lucky escape after a roof was ripped off a block of flats in Slough before it came crashing down meters away from his car.

Taxi driver Haris Baig said he had to slam on his brakes after seeing a large section of roof crash down in front of him on the High Street.

The 30-year-old witnessed the roof being ripped from the building on Tuesday by 50mph winds in the aftermath of Storm Brendan.

Shocked onlookers filmed the roof, which was sat in the middle of the busy road, party crushing a white van.

Residents and shopkeepers were seen calling out to anyone potentially trapped under the debris.

Emergency services have said they do not believe there have been any serious injuries as a result of the incident.

A van was crushed under the debris
PA

Mr Baig said: "At first I thought it was scaffolding, but then I realised the whole roof had come down. There was a massive amount of noise.

“It was a disaster. It was a miracle no one was killed. I was about 15 metres away and slammed on my brakes.

"I got out to see if everyone was alright. That was my first reaction, but at the same time I was thinking is this even safe?”

The fire service said they are currently "not aware of anyone trapped" but are not "100% sure” if anyone was still in the damaged building, which is believed to be both residential and commercial.

Thames Valley Police also said they do not believe anyone has been “seriously injured” in the incident, which they said happened "as a result of weather conditions".

Sebastian Rejnisz, 44, who lives in the affected building, said: “I was moving my car out the back at the time when I heard a boom. I just thought it was the bins.

“I then went in and opened the front door [of the building] and saw the roof was on the street. Everyone was just running around.”

Housing associating company Paradigm Housing tweeted to say the incident had affected one of its properties, although it is unclear whether the roof had come off its building.

A council spokeswoman confirmed the building does not belong to the local authority.

A large police cordon remains in place in the High Street, with part of the metal roof still propped up against the apartment building.

A white van, with its hazard lights flashing, can also still be seen underneath the metal structure.

Aerial view of the destroyed roof after strong winds battered parts of the UK
PA

Balconies on the top floor of the apartment block have been covered with yellow insulation, with much of it still being blown off the roof by strong winds.​

Specialists are working to make the area safe, the council said.

South Central Ambulance Service is also in attendance, alongside a structural engineer from Slough Borough Council.

"It was a miracle no one was killed"
PA

It comes as weather warnings remain in force across the UK after Storm Brendan battered the country with winds of nearly 90mph on Monday.

After plaguing parts of Ireland, causing thousands of homes and businesses to lose power, the storm brought high winds to parts of England and Scotland.

A second low-pressure front brought further high winds to much of England and Wales on Tuesday, with the Environment Agency (EA) warning strong winds, high tides and large waves could lead to flooding.

The high winds forced airlines to divert flights scheduled to land at Gatwick Airport, while also causing disruption to ferries and railways.

Passengers faced delays and temporary speed limits due to the heavy winds and fallen trees, while drivers were advised to take extra care on the roads.

Cross Country said that due to the strong gales, services were suspended between Southampton Central and Bournemouth.

A yellow weather warning for rain in the south-east of England remains in place until 9am on Wednesday, while 22 flood warnings and 145 flood alerts had been issued by the EA on Tuesday evening.

The Met Office said the strong winds were due to ease overnight into Wednesday.

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