Anthony Brittain was watching television when he was startled by a huge bang. He looked outside and was horrified to see that a huge tree had fallen on his house.

The tree fell in Ribble Drive, Bury, as high winds swept across Greater Manchester this morning (Friday), causing havoc across the region. While Mr Brittain escaped unhurt, his roof was damaged when the tree fell at around 6.30am.

“I was watching TV and all I heard was this huge bang,” explained the 23-year-old. “My dogs were completely freaked out.”

READ MORE: Bolton Food and Drink Festival POSTPONED today after damage from Storm Lilian

“I looked out the window and just saw a pile of leaves. I ran outside and saw that a huge tree had fallen on my house. The roof was damaged so I have two holes in the attic.”

Within minutes, firefighters arrived on the scene and cordoned off Mr Brittain’s house and a neighboring property.

Mr Brittain said he had been concerned about the tree since he moved into his house five years ago.

“I was always worried about the tree,” he said. “When it’s windy, I thought, ‘What if it falls over?'”

He spent the morning at a friend’s house and is unsure when he will be allowed to return home.

“I have nowhere else to go,” he said. “I’m just thankful that neither my dogs nor I are hurt.”

Other neighbors spoke of their shock when they saw the tree leaning against Mr. Brittain’s house. Danielle Scott had left her home shortly before the tree fell.

“I went out and everything was fine,” she said. “We came back 15 minutes later and it was broken. The fire department came right behind us. We were all asked to move our cars.”

“It’s sad because this tree has been there forever and we’ve had stronger winds than this one.”

Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, almost all Metrolink services were suspended “due to the storm downing several trees across the network” and the first day of the Bolton Food and Drink Festival was postponed following damage caused by Storm Lilian.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service have been contacted for further information.