A TRAIL of destruction was left by the storm dubbed ‘Mini Beast from the East’ when it hit Haslemere and its surrounding villages at the weekend.
The freak weather cause chaos for travellers on the roads and railway lines by uprooting trees, on Saturday – followed by a big freeze and more snow on Sunday.
Liphook-based tree surgeon Dominic Griffin fortunately escaped uninjured when a tree crashed down on Hindhead Road, crushing the bonnet of his van.
Haslemere firefighters were called to the accident close to the junction with Critchmere Road, at 12.45pm, on March 17, and remained at the scene until 2pm.
Luckily, the Volkswagen Caddy Mr Griffin was driving withstood the force of the impact. He was then able to help Haslemere fire crew clear the carriageway more quickly using the tools of his trade which also survived the impact.
Although Mr Griffin was unharmed, his two dogs were trapped in the footwell of his vehicle and they had to be cut free.
““I saw the silver birch was coming down out of the corner of my eye,” he said of his ordeal. “I put the brakes on and it came down on the bonnet.
“My dogs and I were uninjured but if I had been driving a car it would have been a different story.
“The van is like a rigid box. If it was a car it would have been flattened. It was a very old silver birch.
“It should have been pulled up by Surrey County Council on a highways tree inspection. It had no root system.
“I had my chain saw in the back and I was able to clear the tree for the fire crew. They told me the accident couldn’t have happened to a more qualified person.
“I still do a lot of tree work, mainly conservation, and it was a bit ironic this happened to me.”
Fallen trees also caused problems for rail passengers on Saturday.
Trains between Guildford and Havant were delayed from midday until 5pm after a tree fell across the line near Haslemere Station.
Due to its size, specialist teams had to cut the tree into manageable pieces for it to be moved safely. South Western Railway laid on replacement road travel.