A couple were left shocked when a tree crashed through their garden wall and slammed into their home.

Stephen Button and his wife Julie were in their house in Earlham Green Lane, Norwich, on Wednesday evening when they heard what Mr Button described as an "almighty rumbling".

He went outside to discover the 17ft tree on the verge outside his home had fallen down.

It had crashed through his front garden wall, striking his home and scattering branches across his roof.

Mr Button, 48, who works as a delivery driver, said it had happened at about 6pm.

He said it was at a time when it was not particularly windy, despite the yellow weather warning of wind covering Norfolk issued by the Met Office.

He said: "We were just sitting indoors and all of a sudden we heard this almighty rumbling sound.

"At first, I wondered if a car had overturned. But when I came out, the tree had come down, going through the wall and hitting the top of the house.

"It was frightening. I've never heard a noise like that before.

"My wife called the police and the station officer from Earlham fire station come out really quickly.

"It wasn't windy at all at that point, so maybe it was because the ground was so wet."

Mr Button said he had previously reported the tree to the council as being rotten.

Eastern Daily Press: The tree before it fell on to Stephen and Julie Button's home in Earlham Green Lane, Norwich.The tree before it fell on to Stephen and Julie Button's home in Earlham Green Lane, Norwich. (Image: Google Maps)

He said: "It could have been worse. If it had fallen the other way, it could have hit a pedestrian or a car."

Highways officers were also called to the scene, who cut up the tree and took it off the road and pathway.

But several branches remain on Mr Button's roof, with damage caused to his side of his home - and to his partly demolished garden wall.

Parts of Norfolk saw gusts of up to 55mph overnight on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

It left hundreds of homes without power, due to problems with overhead electricity cables.

And it prompted warnings for drivers taking essential journeys to take extra care.