Endcliffe Park Sheffield: Shock as tree collapses in popular park, narrowly missing woman and child

A huge tree has crashed to the ground in a popular Sheffield park, and is said to have narrowly missed a shocked mum and child.

The tree fell on Sunday afternoon at Endcliffe Park, near Ecclesall Road, close to a bench near the duck pond in what is a popular destination with families in the city.

A picture taken shortly after it fell by Sheffield resident William Bradshaw shows the size of the tree, which was completely blocking the path around the pond.

People in the park today said they had seen reports on social media that there had been a woman and her child sitting on the bench close by, saying the suggestion was that they could have been killed if they had been just a few feet closer.

Mr Bradshaw, who photographed the scene on Sunday, said: “We didn't see it come down. We'd walked to Hunters Bar around 3pm, and back home around 4.

“The park was busy, as always, but no sign of anyone having been hurt, thank goodness. The roots were/had been embedded in bank of the Brook, so I assume the ground was just too wet. We walked past a lot of trees with roots in the banking...bit worrying, really!”

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Sheffield Council has been approached for comment on the incident.

The council’s Parks and Countryside Service runs all the city’s parks, including Endcliffe Park.

The fallen tree comes after a period which has seen the UK drenched with heavy rainfall.

The Met Office has already stated that March was one of the wettest on record, with 27 per cent more rainfall in Britain than usual.