A Scots man was just millimetres away from being fatally crushed by a tree felled by Storm Eowyn.
Barry Will, 28, told The Mirror he came close to certain death as he prepared to walk across a pedestrian crossing along Regent Road in Edinburgh. The community organiser had been on his way to collect a work phone at about 10am this morning when the tree came crashing down at his feet.
Barry said he had left to pick up the phone before the red warning kicked in at 10am and planned to quickly return to his house in order to work from home. He escaped almost certain death by a moment of quick thinking.
“As I went to cross the road, this massive tree just completely uprooted and fell in the middle of the road,” he said. “It completely swallowed up the entire pedestrian crossing when it was about to turn green.
“If I had stepped out into it, I would have been wiped out by the tree pretty much. If I hadn’t stepped back and instead had tried to run a different way from it…it covered the entire junction that there was no escape. It’s such a big tree with so many branches, that I hadn’t just backed away…I almost got killed.”
The tree also narrowly avoided smashing into The Regent Bar, Barry’s favourite pub. Images show the massive tree covering much of the pedestrian crossing as well as the pavement.
Barry explained how his friends and family were relieved but were stunned by the ferocity of Storm Eowyn. He added: “Everyone was so relieved, no one expected it (the storm) to be so close to home.
“A lot of my friends have been so completely shocked by it (the storm). People were shocked by how close to home the actual impacts of the storm were.”
Storm Eowyn battered Scotland today with gusts reaching 90mph and causing damage across the country.
The dangerous conditions led many Scots to stay at home to avoid being caught up in the storm but Barry said some of his friends had been “ordered” to go to work. Reflecting on his pals and whether he would go out if a similar storm were to hit, Barry said: “Nothing is worth that risk.
“I think what has been frustrating is some of my friends go in touch with me to say they were forced to go to work today and they were really upset about not getting a choice, they were forced to have to travel to work.” Police Scotland urged the public not to travel in or to the areas affected by the red weather warning.”
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