A disabled man had to call on London Fire Brigade to free his car after a tree damaged in the recent storm trapped it inside his garage and the council was not able to attend.
John Boorman, of Mercer Place, Pinner, could not access the vehicle after a branch felled in the St Jude storm, on Monday, October 28, blocked the garage door, leaving him housebound.
Mr Boorman, who uses a wheelchair, told the Observer: “I rang the council, but they said they may not be able to send someone down on the day. I rang back the next day and they did not seem interested, so I had to call the fire brigade.
“I just do not understand the way they work. My wife is my carer but she is away at the moment, so without the help of the firefighters I would have been stranded.”
The brigade would not usually attend such a call unless it was an emergency, such as someone trapped inside their home, but firefighters from Harrow Fire Station visited the property on Tuesday, October 29, to trim the tree, ensuring Mr Boorman was not isolated.
Watch manager Dave Donaghey said: “The branch of the tree was resting on the garage roof with other branches hanging down.
“We managed to cut away the branches to stop it blocking the driveway.
“In normal circumstances we would not have done anything, but as he was disabled we were glad to help him out.
“We understood that he had been on to the council. It was the council’s responsibility but I can understand that they also must have been busy [during the storm].”
Contractors hired by Harrow Council visited Mr Boorman’s home on Monday to take care of the rest of tree.
A Harrow Council spokeswoman said: “We can appreciate Mr Boorman’s frustration that he was unable to move his vehicle.
“However, this was clearly a period of extreme weather, which led to 450 trees being uprooted across the borough.
“Given that, the council’s priority had to be to clear main roads first, followed by side roads.”
