"I had seconds to grab my baby and dodge falling oak tree - we both could have died," says Sheffield mum

“I keep thinking, ‘what if I had had my headphones on?’ ‘what if the bench was a metre to the left?’, ‘what if Lily was still in her pram?’”
Alastair Ulke
By Alastair Ulke
Published 15th Apr 2024, 15:38 BST
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A Sheffield mum has described how she grabbed her baby and dodged out the way of a 15-metre tall oak tree as it came crashing down in a city park.

Francesca Dodd, aged 25, says she and her nine-month-old daughter, Lily Joy Wright, had only stopped for a rest on a bench in Endcliffe Park at around 4pm on Sunday (April 14) when she heard a “horrendous noise” behind her.

Sheffield mum Francesca Dodd, 25, had seconds to grab her daughter Lily and dodge out the way of a falling oak after it came crash to earth on Endcliffe Park.Sheffield mum Francesca Dodd, 25, had seconds to grab her daughter Lily and dodge out the way of a falling oak after it came crash to earth on Endcliffe Park.
Sheffield mum Francesca Dodd, 25, had seconds to grab her daughter Lily and dodge out the way of a falling oak after it came crash to earth on Endcliffe Park.
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“If that bench had been a metre to the left I think we would both have been killed,” Fran told The Star.

“I can only describe the noise as like there were a thousand ducks flapping their wings.

“I looked behind me. It was in the direction of the river - and, honestly, I remember thinking, ‘what’s happened to these ducks?’

“And then there was this huge oak tree coming towards me.”

Francesca Dodd, 25, and her nine-month-old daughter, Lily Joy Wright. Fran says they had gone out for a jog around Endcliffe Park and just stopped to rest on the bench when she hear the "horrendous sound" of the tree cracking behind her.Francesca Dodd, 25, and her nine-month-old daughter, Lily Joy Wright. Fran says they had gone out for a jog around Endcliffe Park and just stopped to rest on the bench when she hear the "horrendous sound" of the tree cracking behind her.
Francesca Dodd, 25, and her nine-month-old daughter, Lily Joy Wright. Fran says they had gone out for a jog around Endcliffe Park and just stopped to rest on the bench when she hear the "horrendous sound" of the tree cracking behind her.

Fran describes how the tree did not “come down slowly” as some might imagine - when all was said and done, there was just four seconds between her hearing the crack and the moment the 15-metre tall tree crashed down.

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But Fran’s instincts kicked into action. She told The Star: “I’m so grateful and thankful I had got Lily out her pram when we sat down and had her in my lap already.

“I stood up and all I could think was going to the right as much and as quickly as I could. It’s a blur.”

Photos show the tree missed crushing the bench outright by just a metre - and Fran didn’t escape unscathed either.

She said: “I’ve got a couple bumps on the back of my head that hurt today. It’s all a blur, but I must have been hit by some branches as I got away.”

The tree in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, is estimated to have been around 15 metres tall. If the bench where Fran had sat was around a metre to the left, it would have been crushed completely.The tree in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, is estimated to have been around 15 metres tall. If the bench where Fran had sat was around a metre to the left, it would have been crushed completely.
The tree in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, is estimated to have been around 15 metres tall. If the bench where Fran had sat was around a metre to the left, it would have been crushed completely.
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After the commotion, dozens of people had gathered to take photos of the suddenly uprooted tree.

Fran said: “A man and a woman stayed with me a long time to make sure I was alright - I think the man was a nurse and he checked Lily to make she was okay too - and another woman brought me a bottle since I was shaking. I can’t thank them enough and hope I can find them again.

“I just cannot believe it. You don’t think anything like that is going to happen when you go to sit on a bench.

“I keep thinking, ‘what if I had had my headphones on?’, ‘what if the bench was a metre to the left?’, ‘what if Lily was still in her pram?’. I would have been killed.

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“I’m just so grateful and thankful my daughter’s fine. Things could have been so much worse.

“It’s made me think that you really don’t know when your last moments are.

“It makes you think there’s someone up there looking out for you.”

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Sheffield Council has been approached for comment on the incident.

The council’s Parks and Countryside Service runs all the city’s parks, including Endcliffe Park.

The fallen tree comes after a period which has seen the UK drenched with heavy rainfall.

The Met Office has already stated that March was one of the wettest on record, with 27 per cent more rainfall in Britain than usual.

Related topics:Sheffield CouncilEndcliffe Park

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