Edinburgh weather: Lucky escape for couple as large tree smashes into Edinburgh home during Storm Kathleen

An Edinburgh couple had a lucky escape when a large tree crashed onto their house during Storm Kathleen at the weekend.

Colin and Kim Herkes were sitting with a friend in a gazebo at their Edinburgh home when a neighbour’s massive tree was uprooted during the storm on Saturday.

The trio managed to escape unharmed but an upstairs neighbour was trapped in their flat until a tree surgeon arrived on the scene and cut branches back from the front door.

The fire service raced to the incident at the capital’s Groathill Road North but were stood down after the tree surgeon arrived at around 1pm on Saturday April 6.

Colin, 40, posted pictures of the aftermath on his social media accounts and told pals the sky “went dark all of a sudden” as the large tree “just came down when we were sitting out the back”.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were called to reports of a tree falling onto a property on Groathill Road North on Saturday, April 6 at 12.55pm. One appliance was sent to the property but the team left the site in a safe condition after a tree surgeon attended the incident.”

Storm Kathleen brought disruption to weekend travel with winds of up to 90mph battering parts of Scotland. The Forth Road Bridge was closed to traffic, speed restrictions were put in place on railway lines and several ferry services were cancelled.

About 70 flights departing and arriving at UK airports were also cancelled and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency said 33 flood warnings had also been put in place.

The bad weather is due to continue in Edinburgh this week, with a yellow weather warning for rain in Edinburgh on Tuesday issued by the Met Office.