What to Do When a Storm Brings Down a Tree

High winds across the open downland around Crawley bring down trees and limbs every winter, and a tree on your drive, roof or across the garden is alarming. Here's what to do, calmly and in the right order.

First: stay safe

Keep well back from any fallen or partly-fallen tree, and keep children and pets away. Two hidden dangers catch people out. First, power and phone lines — never approach a tree tangled with cables; treat every line as live and call the emergency services or your network operator. Second, stored tension: a tree that's leaning, split or "hung up" in another tree can shift or spring without warning. What looks stable often isn't. Don't climb on it, cut it, or try to pull it clear yourself.

Is it an emergency?

Call for urgent help if the tree is: on a building, car or across a road or drive; leaning on or threatening a structure; blocking your only access; or hanging dangerously and likely to fall further. If it's down safely in the open garden and threatening nothing, it can usually wait for a normal daytime visit — which is often cheaper than an out-of-hours call-out.

For anything urgent in Crawley, our 24/7 emergency team can make the scene safe at any hour. Call 01293 310077.

What we do when you call

We'll ask for photos if it's safe to take them, give you an honest read over the phone — including whether it can safely wait until morning — and get a crew out fast when it can't. The first priority is always making it safe: isolating the danger, cutting away what's threatening, and propping or dismantling the rest. Full clearance can follow in daylight if that keeps your cost down.

Insurance

Storm damage to your property is usually covered by buildings insurance, and the tree work to make things safe often falls under it too. We photograph everything before and during the work and provide the written report and invoice your insurer will want. It's worth a quick call to your insurer before major clearance so you know what's covered.

After the storm: prevention

Many storm failures are trees that were already weak — dead limbs, ash dieback, or heavy, unbalanced crowns catching the wind. A tree survey or some sensible crown reduction before winter is far cheaper than an emergency call-out after it. If a tree worried you this winter, it's worth a look before the next one.

Tree down in Crawley right now? Don't approach it — call 01293 310077 and we'll make it safe.