Ali Man ✝️

#OnThisDay 39 years ago. In the early hours, I was one of the very few people to capture pictures of the Great Storm of 1987 as the very first trees came down. Here is a story I did for BBC Essex on the 20th anniversary. Stephen's stormy night Stephen Huntley Stephen Huntley, a photographer and camera man, recalls the night of the great storm of 1987. It was a hair raising experience for him. I was living in Ardleigh Green, Hornchurch, and woke up around 2.30am, when I heard the wind picking up and rattling the windows. I heard that a tree had come down, probably the first, in Hornchurch Road, Hornchurch. On the 2 mile journey down there, I did not encounter any further trees down. I was a Freelance Press Photographer and on the look out for some newsworthy pictures, little did I know what was to come. I met up with the Havering Council tree surgeons at 2.45am where they were clearing away the debris. I decided to team up with them as I had no way of knowing where the next tree would come down. We made our way up to the Council Depot in St Marys Lane Upminster, opposite the Windmill, to pick up some more kit.  Stephen is interviewed about the storm On the 1.5 mile journey there were still no further trees down.  As we arrived the wind picked up rapidly.  I parked my small van on the pavement so as not to block the road.  I need not have bothered as you will hear! Within about 2 minutes a police traffic car stopped just as we were leaving the depot to say that an 80ft tree had come down in the road, completely blocking it close by where we had just driven. We could not believe our lucky escape as it just must have missed us by seconds!  We got to the scene just 150 yards away to see the tree with a 3 foot diameter trunk. I stayed there until about 4.15am when the chainsaw ran out of petrol.  We went to the lee side of the tree (side away from the wind) to try and re-fill the chainsaw. The storm was now at it's peak with the winds approaching 100mph.  As we were near the top of a hill, there was little shelter. Even though we were behind the three foot trunk the petrol instead of falling vertically down flew off completely horizontally and vaporised.  Nothing went into the chainsaw as the can was emptied.  That was it, no more fuel. The wind was like the sound of an express train, you could hardly breath if you faced into it.  Roof tiles were flying through the air along with other debris.  Standing up was very difficult in the gusts. Despite the wind speed, I would have expected a wind chill around 0C, having had experience with 6F (Romford) Sqdn. Air Training Corps on the tops of Britain's highest Mountains.  It was relatively mild with a very strange smell in the air.  I have never smelt it before and never since.  It could have been the tree sap from the countless branches that had been ripped off. I made my way back to my van to see it completely covered in branches that had blown along the road and pavement. With great difficulty (the winds were very strong and the branches still had some leaves on), I managed to drag them free. I made my way back home stopping to take a few more pictures of cars crushed by fallen trees in Hall Lane. There were things flying through the air, dustbins blowing around, roof tiles flying and broken in the road. Trees against houses, blocking the road home.  I had a very precarious journey back home along the A127. My van was being blown all over the road with my bonnet flapping up and down in rapid succession like a piece of cardboard, I thought the bonnet catch would break and the bonnet flip up to the windscreen. I had to drive on pavements, driveways and the central reservation.  I arrived home safely to grab a couple of hours sleep as I now knew this was a major news event and would be busy. @BBCLookEast @BBCLondonNews @ScottSHuntley @itvanglia @itvlondon