Buildings were evacuated by fire crews after a tree collapsed onto the roof of an Oxford home.

Firefighters and a specialist rescue team responded to reports of a tree falling onto a property in Colwell Drive, Headington, on Thursday morning.

The crews evacuated the adjacent maisonettes and frantically searched for anyone who may have been trapped in the damaged part of the building.

Station manager Andy Ford said: “Fortunately no one was in the damaged part of the building at the time.

“The priority was to make sure everyone was evacuated and then cordon off the area in case the tree rolled off the roof or any part of the building collapsed under the weight of the tree.”

The entire area was cordoned off. The incident was handed over to police and Oxford City Council to arrange for the tree to be removed and the structure of the building checked before residents could return to their homes.

The tree collapsed just metres away from the home of John Kelly, who until 2008 was Oxfordshire County Council’s emergency planning officer.

He said: “It was near my house but the only issue for us is it has blocked the access to the nearby bridleway.

“You see it fairly often that the roots dry on trees and then a gust of wind will knock them over."