A South Woodford family woke up on Friday morning to find themselves trapped inside their house by a fallen tree.

The pear tree, in Raymond Avenue, had fallen from the pavement across their drive, crushing a silver BMW and blocking the front door.

The trunk had been rotten on the inside and the tree had toppled in high winds and rain during the night.

Shasta Hussain said: “We were sleeping last night and I heard a loud noise.

“I said to my husband I thought the roof was collapsing but he said it was just thunder and we went back to sleep.

“Our bedroom is on the front of the house and when I woke up I could see the green leaves out of the window.

“When I looked I saw the whole thing had fallen on the car, it’s my husband’s pride and joy.”

The couple, their parents and three young children tried to move the tree but had to call the fire brigade.

Officers from Woodford fire station helped the family out of the house around 8am and tree surgeons from Redbridge Council took the tree away later in the day.

The two boys, aged five and two, and 18-month -old girl were unconcerned by the drama.

Mum Mrs Hussain said they were “excited” to see the fire engine and get to go to school late.

But the lucky escape was a concern for older family members, who had noticed the tree was rotten months before.

Mrs Hussain added: “We’re just lucky that the kids weren’t hurt and no one was out there at the time.

“But there are trees all down the street and we will be asking the council what happened.”

A Redbridge Council spokesman said: “All highway trees within Redbridge are inspected annually and work is carried out to maintain the safety of the highway and to maintain tree’s within reasonable bounds.”