Vortex from plane landing at Heathrow damages roof
- Published
Heathrow Airport has repaired the damage caused by the vortex to Mrs Hills' house
Holes were ripped into the roof of a woman's house after an aircraft landing at Heathrow created a vortex.
The sudden current of air was powerful enough to blow tiles and masonry from the home of Patricia Hills in Old Windsor, Berkshire.
Heathrow Airport says only one in 10,000 flights result in vortices which can cause damage to property.
A repair team was sent out to fix the damage at Mrs Hills' property following the incident on Wednesday evening.
Old Windsor is under the Heathrow flight path.
'Warzone'
Mrs Hills first knew of the damage when she heard "a large explosion".
The grandmother said: "I was in the kitchen preparing dinner at the time when I heard the noise.
"I was alarmed to step out the front door and see a large hole in the roof.
"Moments later, a neighbour came out and alerted me to another hole round the back of the house.
"It was quite a mess, it looked like a warzone and was quite upsetting."
Firefighters arrived within moments, sealing off the area and evacuating the house in case any further debris fell from the roof.
Heathrow spokesperson Lizzie Bysshe said the airport funds a £15m Vortex Protection Scheme for homes under the airport's flight path.
A team of its engineers has completed remedial repairs, reinforcing the damaged parts of the roof.
Mrs Hills added: "The airport have been fantastic and came to fix the damage almost immediately."