Emergency tree work in Surrey

When a tree comes down, splits or is left hanging after a storm, the first job is to make it safe. We deal with emergency tree work across Surrey for homeowners and businesses: trees across gardens, drives and fences, limbs on roofs and cars, and trees caught up in other trees. Call us on 07488 892213 and tell us what has happened.

What counts as an emergency

• A fallen tree blocking a drive, an entrance or a path, or lying on a building, a fence or a car.
• A hung-up tree or limb: one that has broken and is caught in the crown of another tree, or still partly attached to its own.
• A split trunk or major limb that has opened up in the wind and could fail at any time.
• A tree leaning suddenly, with the soil lifting or cracking around the roots on one side.
• Branches on a roof or against windows, where the next gust could do more damage.

A tree that has been dead for a while, or one you have been worried about for some time, is urgent but not usually an emergency. Call us anyway and we will tell you how soon it needs doing.

What to do straight away

• Keep everyone back, including children and pets, well beyond the length of the tree. Broken and hung-up wood can move without warning.
• Do not try to cut it yourself. A fallen trunk is often under tension, and cutting it can make it spring or roll.
• Stay away from power lines. If a tree or branch is touching an overhead line, treat the line as live, keep well clear and call 105, the national power cut number. Only the network operator can make it safe.
• If it blocks a public road, call the police on 101, or 999 if someone is in danger.
• Take photos of the tree and any damage before anything is moved. Your insurer will ask for them.

How we deal with it

When we arrive, we look at the tree and what it is resting on before anyone goes near it. A tree lying on a roof or caught in another tree has to be taken apart in the right order, so that each piece we remove does not shift the load onto something else.

We make the site safe first: taking the weight off a building or car, bringing down a hanging limb, or cutting a fallen trunk free from a fence. Large pieces are lowered on ropes rather than dropped. Once the danger is gone, we can clear the rest straight away or come back to finish, whichever suits you, and take everything away. If the stump needs dealing with, we can grind it out at the same time or later.

If the tree is still standing but damaged, we tell you honestly whether it can be kept with pruning or needs removing. Many trees that lose a limb in a storm recover well once the broken wood is cut back properly. After a big storm it is also worth having the other trees nearby looked at, as the same wind can loosen roots or crack limbs that have not yet come down.

Insurance

Storm damage to a building, fence or car is often covered by home or motor insurance, and some policies also cover removing the tree that caused it. Check with your insurer before the work if you can. We can give you a written description of what we found and what we did, to send with your photos.

Rules that still apply

A tree with a Tree Preservation Order, or in a conservation area, can be made safe without consent where it is an immediate danger, but only the work needed to remove the danger. The council should be told as soon as possible, and any further work needs the usual consent. We keep to that line and keep a record of what we did.