Decaying tree that fell on car prompts inspections

A council has "carefully" inspected street trees after one fell unexpectedly and landed on a parked car in south-east London.

The car owner, who did not want to be identified, told BBC London her car was parked in Tranquil Vale, Blackheath, when the lime tree toppled and landed on her vehicle when she was in a nearby shop.

No-one was injured when the tree fell around 07:00 GMT on Wednesday - but a local resident said it "could have killed someone".

Lewisham Council said the tree had been suffering from ground rot which had not been identifiable prior to it falling. The authority said trees in the area had been inspected following the incident.

The car owner said the tree had fallen "silently" while she was shopping.

She told the BBC that she "didn't hear a thing" and said: "I couldn't believe what I saw when I came out."

She said she contacted Lewisham Council which then sent a team to help remove the tree with specialist equipment.

Steven, a local resident, told the BBC: "The tree could have killed someone. This is a busy area in the morning."

A spokesperson for Lewisham Council said: "We understand local concern when a tree falls unexpectedly like this and can confirm that all our street trees in Lewisham are inspected regularly every three years."

It added that the tree had last been inspected in October 2023, and that it had shown "no major defects".

The council told the BBC that it had scheduled another inspection of the trees in the area to "monitor and reassess further".

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