‘That cigarette saved my life!’ Moment pub worker cheats death as huge tree crashes through roof just inches away from where she is smoking during Storm Arwen
- Footage shows the pub manager smoking as tree falls and narrowly misses her
- Cheryl Pound, 55, was at The Star on Market Street, Bridgend, having break
- She was shocked by incident this morning and said she is lucky to be alive
- Storm Arwen continues to wreak havoc and has killed at least three people
This is the astonishing moment a pub manager cheats death as a huge tree crashes through a roof just inches away from where she is smoking during Storm Arwen.
CCTV footage shows Cheryl Pound, 55, on a cigarette break at 1.32am this morning at The Star on Market Street, Bridgend as Storm Arwen rages around her.
She was under a shelter smoking before she finished cleaning up the pub after closing.
In the video, she stands smoking her cigarette as the wind whips, blowing tables and chairs.
As she moves forward to go back inside, she ducks and steps back as the tree swiftly falls to the ground.
She said she is ‘not a spiritual person’ but thinks the cigarette saved her life and put her in the right place at the right time.
The 55-year-old told Wales Online: ‘The pub had shut and I went out for a cigarette before finishing cleaning up. The next thing I get attacked by a tree.’
Ms Pound said: ‘That cigarette saved my life.
‘I’m not superstitious at all. But there must be something up there. I think if I wasn’t under the shelter I would definitely be dead.’
Footage shows Cheryl Pound (pictured) on a cigarette break at 1.32am this morning at The Star on Market Street, Bridgend
The pub manager said she had been in the pub serving all night with the other staff and had not been concerned.
She said she had gone for her cigarette and heard a crack which she thought was someone jumping the wall.
When she decided to step back the tree came down and, astonished, she crawled through the fallen tree back into the pub.
As she moves forward a tree suddenly falls in the garden which misses her by inches as she ducks
Her colleagues were shocked when she told them what happened and how close she was to the tree hitting her.
Ms Pound has worked at the pub for 10 years and said the staff get on really well and were extremely relieved that she was not hit by the tree.
Storm Arwen has battered huge parts of the UK, with gusts of wind up to 100mph.
The trail of destruction has also caused train cancellations across the country, leaving many frustrated commuters stranded.
It has also tragically claimed the lives of at least three people, including a headteacher, who was killed by a falling tree as he travelled through Antrim.
The strongest of winds have now passed in the UK but Storm Arwen is expected to disrupt the country for a few more days.
Ms Pound said she is ‘not a spiritual person’ but thinks the cigarette saved her life and put her in the right place at the right time
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