A DEAD tree, believed to have been declared safe by Basildon Council just weeks ago, has come crashing down...writing off one car and badly damaging another.

Half of the tree, in Renacres, Basildon, had already fallen, but the rest had been declared safe by tree surgeon acting on behalf of the council.

However, at 2.30pm on Sunday, the rest of the tree collapsed, crushing two cars below.

Basildon Council has launched an immediate investigation.

Aaron Stamp, 24, was one of the unlucky motorists. He had parked his BMW under the tree while visiting his girlfriend, Hannah Stebbings, 23 - who owns the other car. Aaron’s car has been left with various dents and scrapes.

He said: “Part of the tree collapsed and the rest was apparently inspected by a tree surgeon and the council and was deemed safe.

“We were out in the garden when we heard the tree fall. My girlfriend was inside and saw it fall.

“Her car took the brunt of the tree but I think we should be able to fix mine.

“It is just a pain having to sort it out and we are going through the council’s insurance.”

He added that it was lucky it had not been a day later, when children from the nearby primary school could have been walking underneath when it fell.

It is thought Hannah’s car, a Fiat 500, has been written off by the tree, as it has sustained severe damage.

Hannah’s mum Maria, 49, of Renacres, Basildon, said: “It’s just the fact that if it had been the day before, we had a party and there were a lot of children playing round there and people walking underneath the tree.

“It could have fallen on a child or a person walking underneath.

“I don’t know why the council decided it was safe.

“You can see now that it is down that it is dead inside.

“The noise was so loud when it fell over that people came out from the pub to see what was going on.

“I can’t believe that three and a half weeks ago, a tree surgeon said it was safe.

“We are just going to have to wait and see what happens with the council now.

“It would be a shame if it had to go through their car insurance as they will have to pay their excess and that will be expensive for them.”

She added that if the tree had fallen due to lightning, that would have been seen as an act of God and would not be covered under the insurance.

However, she believed that this was negligence on the part of the council and so should be covered under the council’s insurance as they should have cut the tree down.

A spokesman from Basildon Council said they were aware of what happened and were investigating.