Ice block from aircraft crashes through couple's roof in the middle of the night
A block of ice narrowly missed a couple sleeping in their bed when it fell from an aircraft and crashed through the roof of their home.
By Richard Alleyne
Published: 4:00PM BST 22 Jul 2010
Vince Foote stands next to the damaged ceiling Photo: SOLENT NEWS
The exterior of Vince Foote's home Photo: SOLENT NEWS
Vince Foote and his wife Brenda said it was like being "bombed" when the ice smashed a 2ft hole in their spare room ceiling. Debris was scattered 30ft around their home by the impact but it could have been much worse if it had come down over their heads or their grandchildren had been staying over in the guest room.
<!-- BEFORE ACI --> "I was woken by an unbelievable bang," Mr Foote, 66, a retired council manager, said. "I thought at first it was thunder and I got up to investigate. I tried to open the spare bedroom door and it wouldn't move. "When I forced it open, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was an enormous hole in both the roof and bedroom ceiling and there were great chunks of ice everywhere.
"My wife and I are in a state of shock, but we also feel like we've had a lucky escape. The ice smashed through the room our grandchildren sleep in when they visit, which is a terrifying thought. "It could have been much worse. We are just so thankful the grandchildren were not here because they could have been really badly injured."
The block of ice was believed to have fallen from an aircraft as it flew over the couple's second floor flat in Chichester, West Sussex, shortly before 2am. Firefighters were called and were confronted by shattered pieces of ice which had landed in the bedroom of the second floor flat in Summerdale Court after smashing through the roof and ceiling.
Mr Foote said: "I went upstairs into the loft and looked up to see a huge hole in the roof as well and then realised what must have happened. "The force was so huge it shattered one of the wooden struts which keep the roof up. "We think it could only have come from a transatlantic plane flying very high above us which jettisoned the ice."
Mr Foote and his 64-year-old wife bought the luxury second floor apartment two-and-a-half years ago "so that they didn't have to worry about gardening any more" when Mr Foote retired from Chichester District Council. "The firefighters and insurance people have been brilliant although everything is now very wet because soon after the ice came crashing in, the heavens opened with the first rain we have had in Chichester in six weeks," he said.
"The firefighters put up a temporary tarpaulin over the roof but the rain since has just deluged in and caused even more damage." Pete Windsor, of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said: "This is one of the strangest incidents we've been called to. "We are just relieved that nobody was hurt and that we were able to offer them some assistance. They have had a miraculous escape really."
