Woman recalls moment husband was 'bombarded with concrete' as storm tore off roof

  • Evie Perchard talks to reporter Alex Spiceley about the couple's remarkable escape

A woman has recalled the terrifying moment she and her husband were "bombarded with concrete" when Storm Ciarán ripped the roof off their home.

Evie Perchard had to climb through granite and rubble to rescue her husband Tony after he was hit by falling debris during last week's storm.

The couple, who have been married 54 years, were in bed near Fliquet in St Martin when the strongest tornado to hit the British Isles in 70 years battered their home.

Mrs Perchard said they are lucky to be alive after the ordeal, with her husband having to be resuscitated after he stopped breathing.

She told ITV News: "Possibly for a nanosecond - when we were being bombarded with concrete - I might have thought this could be it - we might have had our chips now. "The concrete, granite and rubble landed on top of [Tony]... there was enough of it that he wasn't able to move."

Seeing her husband's life in danger, Mrs Perchard says her only thought was "I have to get him out of here".

"I had to then climb through granite and rubble in my nightie to get to him," she said.

Evie and Tony's house pictured furthest left. Credit: ITV Channel

When Mrs Perchard stepped outside, she realised they were now without a home.

She said: "Our roof had blown right off - but it wasn't until I realised I couldn't get him up, got down the stairs and out into the drive, turned round and saw that all of the roofs were off all three houses."

Mr Perchard is now in a stable condition but remains in Jersey's hospital recovering.

Mrs Perchard, who is now staying at a local hotel after losing her house, said: "He's always optimistic, always cheerful. He is now telling dreadful jokes to the nurses which means he's feeling a lot better."

While she has described revisiting her house as "gut-wrenching", she says the thing keeping her going is family and the kindness of strangers: "Thank you in the biggest way possible... especially our son-in-law who has gone above and beyond.

"A huge number of people that we don't even know have physically left gifts at the hotel for me... messages... it helps you - that's what keeps you going".

Want to find out more about the stories making the headlines? Don't miss Channelcast - the Channel Islands current affairs podcast brought to you by ITV News: