Storm Eunice in Sunderland: High winds bring down gable end in South Hylton

The gable end of Ford Lodge apartments in Vicarage Lane, South Hylton, collapsed on Friday, February 18 due to the storm’s strong gusts.

Simon Walker, who lives nearby, captured the damage to the building on camera. His picture shows debris lying in the street, and emergency services at the scene.

While he was not at home at the time of the incident, he describes how his wife heard a “whoosh” before the brickwork came down into the street.

Simon told the Echo: “I returned home about 30 mins later and found police cars blocking off both ends of Vicarage Lane and the fire engine. As the gable end came down it hit the roof over the car park entrance.”

In a statement on Saturday, February 19 Sunderland City Council confirmed its clean-up operation in the wake of Storm Eunice was ongoing across the city.

One call-out attended by council staff on Friday was to make the affected area at Ford Lodge safe. There were nine call-outs for fallen trees and branches.

A council spokesperson added: “Building Control Officers attended the site on Friday and fenced off the dangerous structure. Managing agents for the site will liaise with insurers to remedy the damaged building.”

Part of the city’s Fawcett Street also remains closed due to damage at a nearby building, and there is a continued closure of the eastbound lane of the A183 Chester Road at the end of Croft Avenue for public safety.

This is also due to an unsafe gable end.

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters.

Your support for our journalism means we can continue telling Sunderland’s stories for generations to come.

Click here to subscribe - and click here to get a snapshot of the Echo’s news and sport to your inbox through our email newsletters.