Sefton Council too busy to clear Hollybrook Road

by
30th November 2015

Photo: Hollybrook Rd, Southport

UPDATE

ARMED with nothing more than a broomstick, three hardy volunteers managed to move a thirty foot tree from a resort road after it was felled in high winds.

The tree, which had been standing in the garden of a property on Hollybrook Road in Birkdale, was partially rotted – making it an easy target for the strong winds which battered Southport across the weekend.

Nobody was hurt as the tree came crashing down on Sunday afternoon (November 29) but the road was left completely blocked and although the council were called, contractors warned it would take hours before they could be on site as they were dealing with ten other incidents across the borough.

Deciding this would take too long and with traffic building up, three volunteers who were in the local area decided to get to work and attempt to move the debris to allow for cars to use the road once more.

Using nothing but sheer man power, plus a broom for smaller debris, the trio eventually had the thirty foot obstruction moved to the pavement in under an hour – allowing traffic to once again move freely along the busy residential road.

ots-treetSpeaking following their efforts, one volunteer said: “It wasn’t a big a job as we expected to be honest!

”By the time we had moved the tree and swept up the smaller branches to the side of the road there was little left for the council to do.

“The woman who lived in the house where the tree had been called Sefton early on but they had warned it would take them a long time to get there because they already had ten other cases to deal with – we were not surprised because the weather was absolutely awful.

”A few people came along and collected some of the smaller chunks of wood to use in their fires which definitely helped move it faster!

“Eventually once we had the branches moved, three of us then attempted to move the trunk to the side of the road as cars were getting impatient and eager to get across.

”Although it was heavy, thankfully the wind had totally uprooted the tree and it was a little more easy to manoeuvre than first thought – we had it shifted in under an hour and drivers were very grateful!

“Just as we were finishing up the council team arrived! They looked exhausted and had to go and clear another tree nearby before they came back to ours.”

Southport hit by gale force winds

ots-southport-hollbrook rd

Wet and windy weather swept across Southport this afternoon, Sunday 29 November 2015.

Met Office issues a yellow weather warning which remains in place until 6pm.

The yellow warning – meaning be aware, with gusts expected to reach up to 75mph.

The Met Office warning said: “Please be aware of the potential for some disruption due to the strong winds.”

Tonight will see the rain ease off, with clear spells and a patchy frost this evening. However, cloud will thicken from the southwest overnight bringing further rain.

Due to strong predicted winds, you should plan ahead thinking about possible travel delays, or the disruption of your day to day activities.

 

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