A Leicestershire man had a lucky escape when part of his house collapsed in yesterday's gales.

A gable of Carl Massey's house in Broughton Astley crashed down at 7.50am, scattering hundreds of bricks on to the drive – and his van.

Mr Massey said he left his home, in Fretter Close, at that time every morning – but yesterday he and wife Janet were on holiday in the Lake District.

The couple were alerted to the collapse – which left a huge hole in their house – by a neighbour and rushed back to survey the damage.

"It all fell on to the driveway where I would be crossing to get in the van for work at exactly that time," said Mr Massey, a 42-year-old self-employed painter and decorator.

"The neighbour told me what had happened but when we drove up it was a shock.

"If I hadn't been on holiday I'd have been walking to the car when it happened.

"I definitely feel like fate must have been on my side. I believe in that now.

"I think it was a mix of something wrong with the house and the wind combining. But you would have hoped the house would withstand some wind.

"We're disappointed about the van, but that's why you have insurance.

"It's all just a real shock. You don't expect that to happen to you. The main thing is nobody was hurt."

Neighbour Paul Foulkes, 47, heard the crash as the wall gave way.

He said: "I went to look out the window. There was just this massive hole.

"Carl's beautiful white Mercedes is usually parked where the van was, so it was good he had it with him. That's something, I suppose."

Elsewhere, the winds of up 45mph and torrential rain that battered the county yesterday morning caused a heavy goods vehicle to be blown over near junction 24A of the M1, close to Lockington, at about 9am.

The Highways Agency and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the incident, on the southbound carriageway, to clear the road. Nobody was hurt.

Crews were also called out to deal with several large branches which had broken from trees and landed in roads.

They included incidents in Coplow Lane, Billesdon, Nanpantan Road, near Loughborough, and Cambridge Street, in the West End, Leicester.

Firefighters also assessed the damage at a house in Middleton Street, Aylestone, Leicester, where a window had been blown out by the wind.

Orange recycling bags left out in the Eyres Monsell, Aylestone, Freemans, Knighton, Stoneygate and Castle wards of Leicester were blown around the streets, causing problems for refuse collectors.

Jenny Loran, of the council's waste management department, said: "We will pick up bags even if they have been blown away from a property.

"We will also, when possible, pick up bags which have split."

She said any bags too damaged to collect would be cleared up by the cleansing team and urged householders to ensure bags were tied up securely.

Weather forecast

Today: Day – cloudy with light rain. Temperature 5C. Wind 16mph, gusting to 42mph. Night – cloudy with heavy rain. Temp 6C. Wind 24mph, gusting to 48mph.

Thursday: Day – cloudy with light rain. Temp 8C. Wind 22mph, gusting to 44mph. Night – clear sky. Temp 4C. Wind 11mph, gusting to 21mph.

Friday: Max 8C, min 6C. Winds 10-13mph, gusting to 26mph.

Saturday: Max 7C, min 5C. Wind 13-16mph, gusting to 31mph.

Figures from Met Office

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