A FAMILY of six escaped unhurt early today when the gable end of their house collapsed under the weight of the snow, the fire service has confirmed.
Firefighters were called to the incident in Wood Street, Barnsley, at around 4am.
The semi-detached building is the home of a couple and their four young children.
Miraculously nobody was injured and the couple and their four young children were put into temporary accommodation, while builders tackled the damage and made the building safe.
A police spokeswoman said the damage was to a first floor extension. She said: “All the people in the property were accounted for.”
It followed several centimetres of snow covering the region during Friday night and the early hours of Saturday morning.
Workmen begun boarding up the hole in the side of the modern semi on Saturday afternoon. The debris was piled up in the front garden.
The car port was also beaing removed from the next door property as a precaution.
The children’s grandmother, Julie, said it was a frightening experience that had left the family shocked and upset.
Her daughter called her “in hysterics” , saying it was like an earthquake,” she told the BBC.
She added: “It’s a really shocking experience. You wouldn’t think snow would do this would you? I mean it is bad.”
Neighbours today spoke of the terrifying ordeal.
They explained how snow had piled onto a car port at the side of the house. When it gave way, it brought the gable end of the council property down.
One said: “There was a loud thud, like an earthquake - all the street came out and it was devastating, like a bomb had gone off.
“I couldn’t believe it. It was so loud. I thought it was a gas explosion at first.
“Four young children live there. We’re just glad to know they are all out in one piece.
“We’ve been told they’ve been temporarily rehoused until it’s all sorted out.
“You wouldn’t think snow could do this damage but that’s what everyone is saying.”
She added: “It was lucky, really, it happened at night because the children all play under that car port. It could have been bad.”
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