Chelmsford: Fallen tree damages several cars in Tesco car park

The tree toppled over on Friday afternoon

Several cars were damaged when a tree crashed on to them in a Tesco car park during strong winds.

The tree fell on Friday afternoon at the branch in Springfield Road, Chelmsford, Essex.

Tom Francis, from Dunmow, whose windscreen and bonnet were hit, described the incident as "unfortunate" and said it would be a "substantial job to put right".

Tesco has been asked by the BBC to comment on the incident.

Tom Francis's car was damaged when the tree fell

Two Tesco workers, who gave only their first names, said they were nearby at the time the tree fell, and rushed to help.

"I turned around to see a tree had fallen on top of a number of cars," Chris said.

"I abandoned my trolleys and rushed towards it to make sure everyone was safe, because I'm a first aider.

"Thankfully, no-one was hurt. There was a a couple inside their car, who we helped out."

His colleague Nolan, said: "I heard a massive crash... a bit scary, really - 30 seconds earlier and we could have been squashed."

He said about seven cars had been damaged and tree surgeons checked the other trees in the car park for damage.

Tom Francis's car had to be towed away

Mr Francis said: "The windscreen's damaged, the bonnet, the roof, the door pillars on the side where the tree hit - so it's probably going to be a fairly substantial job to put right."