Fallen tree to cost Gower animal sanctuary 'thousands', with Storm Eunice bringing more worry
By Dean Thomas-Welch, Swansea Correspondent
A 60-year-old oak tree that blew over during Storm Dudley will cost a Gower animal sanctuary thousands of pounds to remove, volunteers say.
Woodfield Animal Sanctuary, which is home to hundreds of rescued sheep, ponies and horses, had a lucky escape when the tree blew over and narrowly missed a sheep pen.
The giant oak toppled over in strong winds on Wednesday night, with volunteers describing an “awful crunching noise" and "a great, big, bang”.
The Met Office is now warning of significant disruption and danger to life from another forthcoming storm, Storm Eunice, with wind gusts of up to 100mph forecast on Welsh coasts.
Alyson Edwards is the yard manager at the sanctuary, based near Welshmoor. She’s worried more damage could be on the way with the onset of Storm Eunice.
“It’s frightening, because the winds are going to be a lot higher than they were yesterday,” she said.
“We are fairly high up here and we have concern for roofs coming off, more trees coming down, and the safety of our animals.”
The sanctuary relies heavily on donations to feed, house and care for the animals that have been rescued from common land on Gower.
Alyson says the cost of removing the tree will have to come out of the budget reserved for looking after the animals.
She added: “It’s a big beast of a tree. It’s a 60-plus-year-old oak tree and we are going to have to get people here to cut it up, which is going to cost a fair amount of money.
“I believe we are running into thousands for it, and that's coming out of sanctuary funds, because it wouldn't be covered by our insurance.”
Despite being left with a hefty removal bill, Alyson says sanctuary staff are grateful that the tree didn't fall a few meters either side of where it eventually landed.
The downed trunk is just yards from a pen that houses their "beloved" rescued sheep called Rambo and Clover.
"It was very close," Alyson added.
"If it had been a couple of feet difference then it would have been on top of [Rambo's] little house! So, very lucky.”