A golf professional from Shropshire was today counting the cost after a massive tree crashed down on his house in high winds, destroying part of the roof.

Rob Grier, 42, said none of his family or any passers-by were injured after the large tree was blown over and hit the property in Yeldside Gardens, Cleobury Mortimer, at about 3.30pm yesterday.

Mr Grier, who works at Stone Driving Range, near Eccleshall, said he was at work and his wife Vanessa and two teenage daughters were both out shopping when the tree fell.

He added it had been a ‘shock’ to see the damage caused by the tree, which also fell on fence panels to the side of the house.

Mr Grier said he was due to meet with builders and insurance valuers later today and expected the cost of repairs to run into ‘many thousands of pounds’.

He stayed at the house last night while his wife and daughters stayed with relatives elsewhere in the town. He said his family would not return until he was told the house was structurally safe.

Mr Grier said: “It is devastating really. We had a call from the neighbours to say come home and it is a bit of a mess.

“It was a shock to see the damage caused. It is always in the back of your mind with large trees behind your house that something like this might happen but it never had before – to be honest I felt we had suffered worse winds without anything happening.

“More than anything I am relieved. Bricks and mortar you can replace but I’m just glad, hand on heart, that no-one was hurt.

“My wife and daughters were out shopping and I was at work so it was just our two spaniels in the house and they were not hurt. I’m also glad there weren’t any passers-by in the area who could have been injured too.

“I have no idea what the cost of the damage is but it will be a lot – I expect it to run into many thousands of pounds.”

A team from Shropshire Fire and Rescue attended the scene and a tree surgeon was also on hand to help cut up the tree into smaller parts ready to be taken away.

• See the latest Shropshire weather forecasts

Wind and rain is expected to continue to hit Shropshire and Mid Wales today. Flood barriers were set up in Frankwell in Shrewsbury today and Frankwell car park was closed from about 7am to allow Environment Agency officials to erect the flood defences.

A number of low-lying Shrewsbury roads, including Gravel Hill, Sydney Avenue and parts of Atcham, are also likely to be closed today as they are usually affected by flooding.

The barriers are being put up following heavy rain in the past couple of nights leading to flood warnings and alerts being issued.

The Environment Agency said that up to 50mm of rain fell at the top of the Severn, Wye and Teme catchments, raising river levels overnight on Monday evening and the early hours of Tuesday.

Mark Bowers, planning and corporate manager at the Environment Agency, said Frankwell car park would be closed for ‘at least 24 hours”.

“At the moment, we have got a flood alert on the River Severn for the whole of Shropshire. They are warnings for Maesbrook and Melverly on the River Vyrnwy,” he said.

Mr Bowers added that a flood alert is out on the upper part of the River Teme, covering areas around Ludlow, Leintwardine and Onibury.

He said low level barriers were being put up in Shrewsbury this morning close to the Theatre Severn, taking about three to four hours to set up.

“They go up in three phases. Phase one can take three to four hours. At the moment, it is just going to be phase one,” he said.

Mr Bowers said it was not yet clear how long the barriers will have to stay in place for. “At the moment, we are in regular contact with Shropshire Council. The car park will be shut for at least 24 hours because we are expecting more rain this afternoon,” he said.

“The positive is we are not anticipating needing to put up barriers for places like Ironbridge and Coleham Head. The levels at the moment are quite manageable.”

Mr Bowers said the closure of Frankwell car park was an important precaution.

See also:

• Shropshire flood warnings see barriers put in place
• Strong gales batter Shropshire with roads flooded