Two women were lucky to be alive last night after the freak storm brought a massive sandbox tree crashing through the roof of a cottage while they were inside.

Mary Dunning and her friend Ann Ross miraculously escaped unhurt after one of the branches of the tree, which was as big as most tree trunks, completely devastated the living room of the garden house in Smith's Parish.

Ms Ross, who was visiting her friend, was standing in the living room when the branch smashed through the roof, bringing down with it ceiling beams and debris. Ms Dunning heard her screams and came running from the bedroom to find her friend in the middle of the wreckage, holding a wooden beam just inches from her head. Doctors at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital could find only bruises and bumps on Ms Ross when she visited the accident and emergency department soon after the incident on Thursday afternoon. Yesterday, as men worked to clear the mess from Sandbox Cottage, both women looked on tearfully, thankful to be alive. At times, Ms Ross was so upset she could barely speak.

Ms Dunning has been living in the cottage, which is in the grounds of Orange Grove on Peak Road, for about 18 months and said she just felt numb.

She said: "I was in the bedroom and it sounded like an enormous clap of thunder directly above the house.

"I heard Ann screaming out and when I went through to the living room she was stood holding a broken beam. The rubble and mess was just pouring down.

"It's a miracle that she is still here. If she had been standing just a few inches away, the tree would have definitely hit her."

Ms Ross said: "I just heard a bang and called for Mary. The next thing I knew, everything was down around me.

"I have got bangs and bruises on my head, but that's it. I was also bitten on my leg by something when the roof came in, but we weren't sure whether it was a bee or a spider, so I had that checked out as well, but it is OK."

Owners of the property, William and Joyce Zuill, said the tree had been aged 40 years ago and was then estimated to be between 200 and 250 years old.

But they were unsure how old the cottage was, which used to be an old stable block, but it is believed to have been there at least 100 years. They said they were hopeful the roof could be repaired.

Mrs. Zuill, who lives in nearby Orange Grove, said: "I feel we have been totally blessed. The material things can be fixed. It's souls that matter.

"We have never had any damage like this before. This is quite extraordinary."

It is believed the branch broke away from the tree because part of it was hollow, causing water to seep in over time, making it weaken.

And when the branch finally snapped on Thursday, it left a bees nest gaping open at the join.

Mr. Zuill said they had hoped to begin work to remove the branch on Thursday afternoon, but deteriorating weather conditions brought a halt to the operation.

Yesterday morning, Pimental Crane Services were at the property, along with Lima's Landscaping, to remove the tree from the roof.

Dnarte Lima said: "I got here at 8 a.m. and saw the tree had completely demolished the house. It's been very time consuming because safety is the key. You have got to be safe doing a job like this and just go along doing one thing at a time.

"We cut piece by piece. You don't want to cut it all down at one time because obviously that is very dangerous."

Sandbox Cottage was not the only casualty of the storm on Thursday night. Many parts of the central parishes looked as though a hurricane had passed through as trees and branches lay strewn across gardens and roads.

In Trimingham Hill, Paget, a tree had been totally uprooted, as had one in Langton Hill.

Along South Shore, wet mounds of sand were left along the edge of the road showing signs that high waves had encroached well onto land and winds had caused beaches to drift.

And all around there were cables lying across roads.

Yesterday morning, housekeeper Natalie Souza spent hours trying to drain away inches of water that had flooded into the summer home of her bosses Jerry and Hanna Fryml, who live in Canada.

And outside of the house on South Shore in Smith's, an uprooted tree lay across a white Toyota hatchback in the driveway.

Mrs. Souza said: "I came over at about 6.30 p.m. last night with my son because the family are away, and we checked that all the windows and doors were fine.

"But I came back this morning at 8 a.m. and found inches of water all the way through the house. It was over my feet. The carpets are drenched through, and in the rooms that are tiled, it was like being in a swimming pool.

"I'm still trying to clear away water, hours after getting here."

The roads were quiet, many shops were closed as thousands of people had chosen to stay at home for the day.

But, never one to be easily cowed, Johnny Barnes braved the storm to take his usual spot at the bottom of Crow Lane to greet those venturing into town.