A FIELD shelter erected for horses in a field next to Church Lane, near Cargreen was lifted up by the power of the wind and flipped over a hedge.

With the apex of the shelter’s roof barely touching the road, the structure weighing “well over a tonne” had managed to wedge itself, upside down into the whole width of the lane supported by the hedge on either side.

Church Lane at Landulph was blocked all of Sunday (January 26) and Monday morning while equipment was brought in by owners Mike and Regan Bush to try and salvage the shelter. But to no avail. Wedged next to a tree, the shed could not be saved.

The field shelter weighed more than a tonne, and was flipped upside down as it was sent over the hedge by the wind landing in the lane behind. (Picture: Mike Bush)
The field shelter weighed more than a tonne, and was flipped upside down as it was sent over the hedge by the wind landing in the lane behind. (Picture: Mike Bush) ( )

Mike explained: “We tried pulling over with a telehandler, but it was jammed against the tree. So we got another telehandler and had one at each end and tried to lift it over, but the tree was still the issue and the shed ended up splitting in half. We had no choice but to just lift it over resulting in it getting trashed.”

“The shed was second hand, but new to the couple and only installed a couple of months ago. It wasn’t insured. My wife is devastated,” said Mike who thinks the wind must have changed direction to have lifted the shelter.

“The direction must have of changed just briefly from SW to S and just lifted it.”

The remains of the shelter which couldn't be salvaged leaving the owners "devastated". It had only been in place for a couple of months. (Picture: Mike Bush)
The remains of the shelter which couldn't be salvaged leaving the owners "devastated". It had only been in place for a couple of months. (Picture: Mike Bush) ( )

Luckily for the couple their horses were safely tucked up in their stables during the storm and none the worse for the experience.

The winds over the weekend brought chaos with widespread power cuts in the PL12 area, including 114 properties still without power by Monday morning.

Cormac reported attending 183 emergency incidents, including fallen trees and significant flooding.