Pub Worker On Cigarette Break Narrowly Escapes Death In Terrifying Footage

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A pub manager believes she would have lost her life had she been a few steps closer when Storm Arwen toppled a tree.

Cheryl Pound was enjoying a cigarette at 1.32am on Saturday under the outside shelter of The Star on Market Street, Bridgend. Then high winds felled a huge tree which landed inches from Cheryl in the pub garden.

The 55-year-old said: "The pub had shut and I went out for a cigarette before finishing cleaning up. The next thing I get attacked by a tree."

The business' CCTV captured the near miss. Cheryl does not describe herself as a spiritual person but she believes something put her in the right spot.

"That cigarette saved my life," she laughed. "I'm not superstitious at all. But there must be something up there. I think if I wasn't under the shelter I would definitely be dead.

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"We'd been serving behind the bar all night and it was windy but I wasn't really concerned. I was just having a cigarette and I heard a crack. I honestly thought someone had jumped the wall.

"As you can see in the footage, I went to walk out of the shelter and I don't know why but something told me to step back. The next thing I knew the tree just came down."

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Cheryl had a "slight" adrenaline rush and felt "shock more than anything". She had to crawl back into the pub through the fallen tree, where she told her colleagues what had happened.

She added: "Tanner the doorman and Lorraine the karaoke lady were in there. I said, 'Did you hear that big bang?' They said they hadn't.

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"I told them, 'We have a tree in our garden.' They came out and were absolutely shocked. When we went upstairs and took the footage off the camera I couldn't believe how close I was.

"There's quite a bit of damage. They're still getting rid of the tree and there are four tables broken, with umbrellas. It damaged the smoking shelter too."

Cheryl, who has worked at The Star for 10 years, says it is the best job she has had. "It's one big happy family working here," she said. "Not many people can say they love their job but I love my job. Everyone's chuffed that I'm still here, shall we say."

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