Tree check as gales hit town (From Warrington Guardian)

Tree check as gales hit town

RANGERS checked trees in Tatton Park over the weekend as strong winds battered Knutsford.

Staff patrolled the grounds of the 1,000-acre estate to ensure branches and trunks remained intact.

"Generally it was not too bad a day and we had winds that tended to whip up one minute and then die away," said general manager Brendan Flanagan.

"But all in all we had no particular problems."

The park had been alerted to an incident at nearby Dunham Massey on Saturday.

A 12-year-old boy was killed and three other people, including a two-year-old girl, were injured when a tree was uprooted in high winds.

Staff regularly survey trees at Tatton throughout the year.

But during high winds rangers and gardeners are called on to inspect the grounds.

Tatton has been forced to close the park in the past during severe gales.

"If we consider it to be too dangerous then we will close on the rare occasion," he said.

Yesterday (Tuesday) traffic police said there had been few accidents on the roads during the bad weather.

"We've not had any particular reports that the wind has been a problem," said a spokesman.