IT WAS a miracle escape rather than a Christmas miracle after a tree crashed into a Southampton home last night.

The 35-foot pine smashed into the front of a house in Boswell Close, Thornhill, at around 10.30pm.

Amy Clifft was at home with her boyfriend, mum, stepdad and brother and said everyone was in bed when the drama began.

She said: “We heard an almighty thud. My mum thought it was my boyfriend because he was lifting weights and she thought he'd dropped them, but then my brother said a tree had fallen on the house.”

Daily Echo:

The family were briefly evacuated as police and Hampshire Fire & Rescue arrived on the scene but they were able to return this morning.

Amy, a 25-year-old healthcare assistant, added: “We were really lucky but we are left with this tree on our roof. The damage doesn't look that bad but it has broken through the roof and there is a leak so we have had to turn off the electrics off upstairs.

“Hopefully we should be able to stay at home for Christmas but we have someone coming out from the council to assess it. We are told we are top of the list but we can imagine a lot of trees have fallen last night.

“It's the worst time of the year for a tree to fall on your home.

“Thankfully my grandparents live just down the road in Byron Road so if the worst comes to the worst Christmas will not be cancelled, just postponed.”