Terrifying moment a giant falling tree narrowly misses three walkers at busy crossroads
Dashcam footage taken by shocked driver Andrew Thomas shows just how close pedestrians in Ealing, west London, came to being badly hurt by the uprooted tree
This is the harrowing moment a huge tree nearly crushes three helpless pedestrians as they walk along the road.
The giant oak fell onto a busy crossroads in Ealing, west London.
It comes perilously close to falling on top of the walkers and narrowly misses a car on Saturday afternoon.
Dashcam footage shows the moment the tree was uprooted with a couple leaping out of its way as it falls.
Another woman - crossing the road at the time - dodges the massive tree by yards.
The video was taken from Andrew Thomas' car as he was driving through the area with his girlfriend Joanna Wolman.
It has been already watched by over 250,000 on twitter alone.
"As a person with anxiety I was shocked and scared," Joanna, 33, told the PA news agency.
"Seeing that couple approaching and the tree falling was so horrific for me. You can hear us swearing!
components.molecules.ReadMore: The jaw-dropping abandoned £40million mansion that's bigger than Buckingham Palacecomponents.molecules.ReadMore: Heartbreak as husband, wife and best friend all catch coronavirus - and just one survived"That pair were so lucky - a person who is constantly looking at their phone would have been killed."
They called police just after 4pm and officers informed the local council of the downed tree at the junction of South Ealing Road and Little Ealing Lane.
The Metropolitan Police said they believe no one was injured in the incident.
Andrew, 41, who works as a health and safety manager, said: "My shock is how the tree got to that state in the first place - when were the checks of it done?
"Surely this is the council's responsibility to ensure the safety of the public? This case they clearly did not."
Ealing Council has been contacted for a comment.