Storm causes tree to collapse on cricket pavilion

Members of a cricket club have been left "heartbroken" after their pavilion was damaged when a tree fell during Storm Boelo.

Strong winds caused the tree, believed to be hundreds of years old, to collapse on a building at Woodham Mortimer Cricket Club near Maldon, Essex, on Saturday.

George Verlander, the club's development officer, said the women's toilets had been particularly damaged.

He confirmed that no-one had been hurt and the club was waiting for its insurance company to assess the damage before it made longer-term plans for the clear-up and eventual rebuild.

The club has been developing plans to launch a youth programme, he added.

"I was really upset because we pour so much effort into the club, and it's a club that's been there since 1784, so it's one of the oldest Essex cricket clubs," Verlander explained.

"The amount of effort that goes into running it is phenomenal... you see the damage to these toilets, and it's heart-breaking."

Verlander, 32, said in the past week the club had started to work on plans to attract younger players as well as women and girls, but it had been thrown up in the air following the storm.

He said that once the club had heard more from the insurance company about the extent of the damage and cost of the repairs, he would share plans with the wider community for help with clearing the damage and fundraising.

"We'll probably have to get something done [soon] because the weather's only going to turn worse throughout the winter," Verlander continued.

He added: "I want it all to be completely transparent so people can see what the damage is and what the repair costs are.

"While we're doing it, the whole reason is to not just build our facilities back up, but we need those facilities if we're ever going to attract youth and young women and girls to the club to broaden out the membership base."

Storm Boelo caused strong winds and rain across Essex over the weekend.

Elsewhere in the UK, some parts were left flooded, thousands of homes were left with power and two men were killed - one in London and one in Scotland.

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