A family in Colchester had a nasty shock this morning – As a 20ft tree in their garden fell onto their home.

Ella Havell, who lives in her home in Lexden Mews, Lexden Road, first knew of the incident when she heard a crash and her daughter, who was in the kitchen, say the tree had fell over.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service’s Urban Search and Rescue team were on the scene at around 10am.

Mrs Havell said: “It just fell over, there was no wind or anything.

“My kids were at home, fortunately they weren’t outside.”

Mrs Havell, who lives with her husband, father-in-law and six children, said the wall in the back garden took most the brunt from the fall.

She said: “It’s in a conservation area. We tried before for permission for the tree to come down. We hadn’t planned on it falling!”

The family have lived in the home for seven years.

Mrs Havell said: “My husband’s away and he said he’s not going to do it again!

“We didn’t know the tree was rotten. There’s no roots.

Mrs Havell, who is a baker, had two cakes to prepare for tomorrow, but wasn’t allowed in the kitchen for the best part of four hours while the tree came down.

The tree was safely down on the ground at around 1.30pm, after the team used a leverage system on a tripod and a chainsaw.

Watch Manager Greg Parry said the team were there as there was a life risk because the tree could have fallen into the conservatory.

He added: “Now it’s on the ground they’ll have to get a tree surgeon in the dice it up.”