A STUDENT has described the terrifying moment when a large pine tree fell on top of her during Sunday’s bad weather.

As reported in the Daily Echo on Monday, the tree, which was in the grounds of the Royal Bath Hotel, came down as rain and strong winds battered Bournemouth, blocking the entrance to the Bath Road South car park.

Samantha Herbert, 20, works part-time at a gift shop on Bournemouth Pier and is studying multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University.

She said: “I work on the seafront and I was waiting outside the car park outside the hotel for my boyfriend to pick me up. I heard a crack and saw the tree falling and it fell on top of me.

“It hit me in the head and I fell to the ground but I was able to crawl out.”

Samantha was checked over by a friend who is a doctor and was found to be relatively unharmed.

She added: “It was the noise – it was so loud and it came through a fence as well. I obviously was not sure what was coming down, whether it was part of the hotel or a chimney or something.

“I tried to get to the ground, it was quite scary.”

Police and council workers were called out to the scene on Sunday afternoon, as well as a tree surgeon.