A huge tree narrowly missed a family's home and car when it smashed through the roof of a garage in yesterday's gales.

Mum-of-two Anna Nobel was upstairs in her home, in Lubenham, near Market Harborough, when the strong winds blew the 15m chestnut in her garden into her double garage at around 11am.

It was one of scores of collapsed trees which caused problems across Leicestershire as winds of up to 56mph and torrential rain lashed the county.

Anna, 39, a nurse, said: "I could hear the wind outside which was really loud, and then I just heard this big thud.

"It didn't sound like a tree really – there wasn't a big creaking sound like you would think.

"I looked out and this huge tree was just lying there. It was a total shock.

"I was too frightened to go outside because I thought it could be quite dangerous.

"It's a huge tree, old and gnarly, so it must have been there for years.

"My daughter who is seven was quite upset and started crying, and my son who is nine kept asking what had happened."

Anna called in a tree surgeon to her home in Rushes Lane, and will find out the extent of the damage to her garage and its contents, when the tree has been removed.

She said: "We are just happy nobody was hurt."

Yesterday was a busy day as council staff, police and specialists were called into action across the county.

Here are just a few of the problems in Leicestershire yesterday:

Thousands of homes across Leicestershire, including those in Walton on the Wolds and Barrow-upon-Soar, were left without power as strong winds and falling trees ripped down electricity cables.

A spokeswoman from Western Power said about 12,000 customers were affected between midnight on Wednesday and 5pm. Engineers worked to restore supplies as quickly as possible as the weather abated.

About 30 motorists were stuck for more than an hour on the A46, near Six Hills, when a tree fell blocking the road at 6am yesterday.

Tree surgeons also spent all day hauling huge trees out of the Grand Union Canal.

Steve Allen, contracted by British Waterways, removed two trees from the canal, at Husbands Bosworth, which were blocking the path of two boats. He also removed a tree which had fallen across the canal at Foxton Locks, and one between Foxton and Market Harborough.

"I have had a very busy day today," said Steve.

"Thankfully, there hasn't been a lot of boats on the canal today."

Three teams of forestry workers from the county council were at work from 6.30am, pulling trees from roads all over Leicestershire, including Saddington, Barrow-upon-Soar and Burrough on the Hill.

Leicester farmers' market was cancelled owing to the winds.

The A6006 Far Street, in Wymeswold, was also closed as fire crews worked to clear a fallen tree.

Staff at the Co-op store, in High Street, Measham, were greeted with a flooded aisles yesterday morning, after strong winds blew tiles from their roof and, with the heavy rain, caused a leak.

Mercury weatherman Dave Mutton said the storms were unusual for this time of year.

He recorded a maximum gust of 56mph in Cosby, and said he would usually expect winds of around 17mph for this time of year.

Forecast: The days ahead

Mercury weatherman Dave Mutton gives his forecast for the next few days:

"The wind will die down and we may even wake up to a bit of ground frost, if the wind gets right down.

"It will remain cold, but bright and sunny, with temperatures of around eight or nine degrees.

"The weekend will be a lot more settled indeed, readers will be happy to hear."

See the online four-day forecast here.