WARNINGS AS STORM ATIYAH SWEEPS IN:
SCAFFOLDING fell onto a car and caused damage to neighbouring homes in Cardiff in the early hours of yesterday.
High winds started battering the region even ahead of Storm Atiyah’s arrival yesterday afternoon.
A weather warning remained in place today, bringing warnings of winds of up to 70mph.
The scaffolding rig fell from a property on Clive Street.
A South Wales Police officer at the scene in Grangetown on Sunday morning said nobody had been hurt.
A Mercedes car was trapped underneath the scaffolding and a second car narrowly missed being crushed, with damage to its back windscreen wiper.
Ahmed Aboutaleb was staying at his friend’s flat at the property which the scaffolding was attached to when the incident happened at around 2.30am.
He said: “I was inside the home and
I had a feeling like the sky came to the floor.
“I looked out the window and it was very noisy and the wind was very strong.”
Ahmed added that there are four flats in the property, and he said they were very lucky that nobody was injured.
“I was asleep when it happened and I woke up from the sound and I just didn’t know what to do.
“It was scary and I was in a panic.” Ahmed said it was his friend’s car which was damaged by the collapsed scaffolding, leaving them “gutted” as they only bought it a month or so ago.
The street was closed for a time yesterday, with drivers diverted down the opposite side of the road.
A bus was also stuck at the top of the road closure and was unable to make its way around the diversion.
The bus driver said he had been there since 8.40am and was unable to leave the bus unattended until the road was cleared later in the day.
A resident who lives next door to the property said the terraced houses have been turned into flats.
Neighbour Jackie Lazenby said: “It was really windy but even my son in the front bedroom didn’t hear anything.
“We are really lucky it didn’t hit our vehicle but it has pulled down our telephone cable and our drain pipe. My internet isn’t working.”
Jackie added that the scaffolding has been up for quite a while and there hasn’t been any work going on in the area for a while.
“The scaffolding is on the back of the house too and in my garden but I think the back walls protected it from the wind,” she added.
Cardiff Council has confirmed the scaffolding is privately owned, but a spokesman said an inspector will visit the site to ensure the highway is safe.
The company whose sign is on the scaffolding has been contacted for comment.
Elsewhere, one lane was closed eastbound on the M48 Severn Bridge due to strong winds, while more than 100 properties were left without electricity in Pembroke.