FRAIL pensioners feared for their safety after a roof blew off a neighbouring house during the wild storms that battered York.

Alice Coundon, 72, of St Anne's Court, was in the kitchen of her council bungalow when she heard a loud crash.

"I could see what I thought were black bags blowing about until I realised the next door roof had ripped off," she said.

"It made a huge noise and bits of the roof were flying everywhere and even blew up into one of the nearby trees. Thankfully, no one is living in there.

"I was worried about our roof after it made a creaking noise but, fortunately, it was okay."

Mrs Coundon, who lives with her husband, Bryan, in one of City of York Council's "discus"

bungalows, said it was a miracle no one was hurt as local school children usually walked past at about the time of the incident.

"I've never seen anything like it," she said.

A council spokesperson said: "We can confirm that the roof of an empty bungalow was damaged by wind.

"A surveyor attended the scene to make sure there was no risk of debris being blown around. Council employees have returned to the scene to tidy up and make the building secure."

The bungalow was just one victim of the ferocious storm that swept through the region on Thursday afternoon.

Gusts of up to 75mph stretched the region's emergency services to the limit as trains were cancelled, trucks overturned and trees ripped out of the ground.

Thousands of rail passengers were left stranded at York Station as GNER services to London Kings Cross suffered severe disruptions and long tailbacks built up on York's major roads.

GNER spokesman John Gelson said they expected that train services would be running back to normal today and tomorrow. We are continuing to monitor the weather situation, but we expect to operate our schedule," he said.

Council tree surgeons and engineers were continuing to clear away the last of the debris which was scattered in the storms.

A large tree which had blown down was still to be cleared in St George's Field car park, while one in Fulford School's car park, which fell against a building, was later disposed of.

Terry Collins, director of Neighbourhood Services at the council, said: "The response from council staff to the problems yesterday was fantastic. The council really appreciated their hard work and commitment on behalf of the city."

Driver killed in tree collision

A 22-YEAR-OLD driver from East Yorkshire was killed when his car collided with a tree.

The man, from Pocklington, suffered fatal injuries in the crash on the B1246 Kilnwick Road, just east of Clay Field Road, at Pocklington, at 11.15pm on Thursday.

His blue Vauxhall Vectra estate car was travelling towards Pocklington from the direction of Warter when it hit the tree.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger, a 31-year-old Pocklington man, suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries to his legs and was taken to York Hospital for treatment.

Glenn Ramsden, of Humberside Fire And Rescue Service, said: "Once again, we find ourselves reporting on a fatal road traffic collision.

"This type of incident is becoming all-too common on the roads in the service area and, while our crews are highly trained to deal with this and other types of incident, it is always a very harrowing experience for them.

"It was very sad that they could do no more for the driver of the vehicle."

Humberside Police would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision or who saw the car beforehand.

Anyone with any information is asked to phone 0845 6060222.