East Sussex women "very lucky" after tree falls on her car and smashes windscreen

Alison Milford, 68, was driving along the A475 in Offham to meet her parents when a tree crashed onto her car bonnet at around 12:30pm on Friday, March 31.

She told SussexWorld: “I was going out of Lewes and then suddenly my windscreen just exploded. A branch appeared in the window.

“I parked up and the car was still working. It wasn't until I got out that I realised that a tree must have come down and bounced off the bonnet of the car into the other side of the road.”

Not only had Alison’s bonnet been smashed, but her windscreen now had a branch from the tree wedged into it.

Thankfully, because it was stuck in the glass, it had not caused any harm to the Cuckfield driver or her vehicle’s engine.

Alison said: “It [the branch] kind of stuck in the windscreen at an angle. If it had gone through it would have gone into my shoulder or through a passenger if there was one.”

Following the tree fall, Alison parked the car outside a nearby house and went into the Blacksmith Arms pub to ask for help.

Alison said: “I went into calm mode, mainly because I wasn't injured. I was covered in glass, the whole windscreen was totally smashed. I’m still finding bits of glass in my shoes, about a day later.

“Because I wasn't injured in any way, I went into getting on with things and ringing up my husband because he was working from home to get on the phone to the insurance company and then come and pick me up.

“The owners [of the pub] were amazing. They say they get quite a few accidents round that way. The recovery service turned up at 3pm to take the car away, so we were there for quite a while.”

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Despite feeling tired and “a little shaky” the next day, Alison managed to escape unharmed from the event.

She said: “If I was injured I probably would have been a lot more shaken. I was just very lucky, I was gobsmacked the windscreen could withhold the branch.

“It just stuck in there and didn't go any further. It’s quite remarkable because it could have gone right through and gone into my shoulder. It could have been very nasty.”