THIS was the dramatic scene as a large tree was blown over, blocking one of the main roads into Lowestoft.Fortunately, no-one was hurt during Sunday evening's incident as a potentially dangerous situation was averted with no vehicles or pedestrians in sight.

THIS was the dramatic scene as a large tree was blown over, blocking one of the main roads into Lowestoft.

Fortunately, no-one was hurt during Sunday evening's incident as a potentially dangerous situation was averted with no vehicles or pedestrians in sight.

Instead, a 'crushed' lamppost was all that was demolished by the 60-year-old poplar tree.

The emergency services and Waveney District Council's parks team were called to Normanston Drive to clear the scene after the tree had fallen at about 7.30pm on Sunday.

'Police were contacted by the CCTV control room at 7.45pm on Sunday to reports that a large tree had fallen, completely blocking the road,' a police spokesman said.

'The tree had crushed a lamppost, and the council were alerted. Officers directed traffic away from the road and it was signed and coned, with the road eventually re-opening around 9.20pm.'

Onlookers described how the large tree had fallen completely across the road to block traffic in Normanston Drive on Sunday night, with Mrs Pauline Rose, of Garden Close,

capturing this image after the tree had worringly fallen 'just opposite' their house.

A Waveney District Council spokesman confirmed yesterday that the 'standby' teams of the Waveney Norse parks section were called out.

'On arrival they found that the tree had fallen along the length of the verge, partially blocking the road and demolishing a lamppost on its way down,' a council spokesman said.

'No one was injured and the road was speedily reopened once the branches were cleared.'

The trunk of the tree was cleared using a crane lorry on Monday, with the tree in question being a hybrid Poplar, which is about 60 years old.

'Poplars have notoriously weak and brittle timber that quickly become susceptible to root decay fungus long before symptoms of poor health can be seen in the crown of the tree,' a council spokesman said.

'Gale-force winds occurring at this time of year when the trees are still heavy in full leaf places a tremendous strain on the roots, which in this case failed, causing the collapse of the tree.'