A COUPLE were "half a second from death" when a tree smashed into their vehicle after being felled by Storm Doris. 

Lance Willams and his wife Margaret were driving up Ipswich Road, in Colchester, shortly after 12.30pm yesterday when the tree crashed to the ground amid 70mph winds. 

The trunk landed less than two metres behind the couple’s Mitsubishi Shogun but the falling branches caused significant damage.

Mr Willams said: “We were about half a second away from death, that’s how close it was.

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

“I was driving up the road because we were going to fill up at the garage and all of a sudden there it was coming down.

“There was nothing I could do but swerve into the middle of the road but it just came down right on top of us.

“Somehow the main bit just missed us.

"We would have been goners if it hadn’t.”

The 73-year-old retired policeman, added: “If we had been in our other little car, we would have been dead but the Shogun took the impact pretty well.”

Mr Williams, who is also member of Great Horkesley parish council, also said: “We were actually going to fill up because we’re meant to be taking the caravan away for a few days with friends - we won’t be doing that now.

“We’re both very shaken by it all.”

Winds of up to 70mph struck north Essex between 11am and 3pm yesterday as emergency services were called to more than 75 storm-related incidents across the county.

An amber weather warning remained in place last night until 8pm.