Tom Bates left his home office to pop to the local pub for a pint just ten minutes before a massive landslide smashed into his home, destroying the room he’d just been sat in. That calls for a drink!
A dad-of-three cheated death after a huge landslide smashed into his village home – just minutes after he popped to the pub for a pint. Accountant Tom Bates, 40, had left his home office shortly before hundreds of tonnes of earth struck the room.
Their house was badly damaged when hundreds of tonnes of earth struck it in Hoarwithy, Herefordshire, at 9pm last Friday, – thought to be caused by a Grand Designs-style development next door. Luckily, his wife and children were away at the time.
Neighbours said the landslip sounded like “an earthquake” and it was a “miracle” nobody was hurt when the rubble came down. Dad-of-three Tom said: “It was more by luck than judgement that I missed it, I missed it by ten minutes.
“It destroyed my home office, I was working in it until 9pm. One of my neighbours messaged me to sign some paperwork, so I wandered down to the pub. I’d just taken the top off the beer, and that was when I got the text.
“My wife Suzanne, two small children and step daughter, by the grace of God, were away on a rare trip so they missed it, thankfully. It destroyed the office completely and punched a wall down at the end of the living room.
“I have absolutely no idea how lucky I got, it was ridiculous.”
Neighbours described hearing “an earthquake” and emergency services were called to the scene and closed the C1261, which is likely to remain shut for several weeks due to the danger it poses to the public.
The family, who have lived in the cottage for the past eight years, have now been housed in a nearby accommodation. Tom added: “When I got there the police turned up two minutes later and the fire engines and everyone else, I haven’t stopped at all since then.
“I was shell-shocked. The amount of chaos and suffering we’re now having is extraordinary. Our family home is now destroyed and we’re now homeless.
“The pressure this is putting on our marriage and our lives is huge. They’ve put us in a temporary accommodation, an Airbnb type property. We have no idea what the next steps are.
“It’s all in the hands of the insurance company, that’s what we’ve got home insurance for.”
Wife Suzanne said she felt “lucky” her family were out at the time and said a lorry driver was the first to notice an electrical cable was down and alerted neighbours, who called emergency services.
She told the BBC: “Every time I come out here I end up crying. They secured the property as best they could to keep things safe and that’s been it really since Friday.
“We’re just trying to make sense of a new normal for us as a family and where we go from here, because obviously it’s going to be a really long time to put this right.”
Neighbour Sam Lawrence-Lewis, 32, said: “I was alerted to it by a lorry driver who had noticed an electric cable had come down.
“I went out to try and establish the cause and saw that this huge landslide had damaged two of the houses nearby. I called the emergency services right away and police and fire crews came out and sealed off the area.
“One house was an empty cottage which has already been partially demolished but the worst affected is a neighbour of mine. Luckily, she and her family were out at the time, which is just as well as it did quite a bit of damage.
“It has taken off the end of her house and left part of her back call all mangled and twisted. We had a landslide a few years ago so there is always the concern.
“But we fear the cause in this could have been contributed to the new owner of the cottage clearing loads of trees along the bank. They haven’t lived there since they bought the property around six months ago at auction.
“They did a bit of work but then believe they ran into some planning permission issues so it had been a bit of an eyesore ever since. It wouldn’t have been so bad if that got destroyed but I feel for my neighbour as her home had been badly damaged.”
Another resident, who did not want to be named, added: “I thought there had been an earthquake. There was a landslide previously there before but this one was worse. It’s a miracle nobody was hurt or killed. It could have been disastrous.”
Herefordshire Council said it was awaiting the results of a survey of the rock face to see if the road adjacent to the properties could safely reopen.
A council spokesperson said: “Herefordshire Highways teams attended the scene of the landslip on Friday shortly after it occurred. The incident has affected two properties and occurred on private land. The road has been closed at this location for safety reasons.
“The council has been in contact with the landowner, who is taking steps to address the situation, and our building control team has inspected the affected properties.
“An engineer has also assessed the rockface, and we are awaiting the results of their investigation to determine when the road can safely reopen.
“We will continue to provide updates on this issue as we have them. In the meantime, we ask all motorists and residents to respect the road closure and follow the diversions that have been put in place.”
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