A COUPLE in Caerphilly say they “could have died” after two “huge branches” crashed through the roof of their outbuilding.

Homeowners Angela, 69, and Alan Muggleton, 70, now want Caerphilly County Borough Council – which owns the tree – to foot the bill for the roof’s repair.

“Two enormous branches” plunged into the their store-room, destroying the roof and causing substantial damages to garden furniture and equipment, Mrs Muggleton said.

The couple, of Plas-y-Coed, Pengam, estimate the cost of fixing the roof and replacing the items affected to be £7,000.

But the council sent a letter explaining that they are not liable for the damage and would not be covering the cost.

“I was just a bit incensed,” Mrs Muggleton, said.

“I was incensed with the injustice of it.

“My argument is that it was their tree and my property.

“They say that because we hadn’t asked for an inspection of the tree before the incident that they are not negligent.”

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It was on Sunday, August 4, that the branches plunged through the roof.

“I was in the kitchen, but I could’ve been in the store-room.

"I heard creaking and then a loud bang.

“Normally on a Sunday morning, my husband or I would be in there getting the lawn mower and other garden equipment.”

She said the council did not send people to help clear the rubbish because that would have been them accepting liability.

“We are old age pensioners and we had to move it ourselves.

“We could’ve hired someone but it would’ve meant we were out of pocket, which would’ve meant no Christmas.”

The letter sent by the council, seen by The Argus, was signed by a council insurance officer and accepted the tree was under the control of the council.

However, they wrote the “failure of the tree was not foreseeable”.

They deemed the tree “low risk” as the tree does not encroach on major pathways, highways and school and therefore did not require regular inspections.

When an arboricultural officer inspected the tree on August 21, there was “very little decay” – had an inspection taken place prior to the event, they would not have predicted the branch to fall as it appeared health, they wrote.

The council therefore claimed it had not been "negligent" and rejected Mr and Mrs Muggleton's claim.

A Caerphilly Council spokesman said: The council’s Insurance Team are currently reviewing the file.

"Without going into too much detail about this individual case, a local authority is not necessarily liable for damage caused by a fallen tree/branch if reasonable steps are taken to maintain the tree and it is healthy.

"This is a widespread legal position and not just CCBC policy.

"We are continuing to liaise with the property owner."