A DAD-of-three was moments from death when a huge landslide smashed through his home – thought to be caused by a Grand Designs-style development next door.
Accountant Tom Baker had just left his house on the banks of the River Wye in Herefordshire when hundreds of tonnes of earth struck the property.
A landslip near Hoarwithy, Herefordshire, which caused the partial collapse of a houseCredit: SWNS
Tom Baker was moments from death when the landslide destroyed his homeCredit: SWNS
Thankfully Mrs Baker was away with the three children at the timeCredit: SWNS
His wife Suzanne, who was away with their three kids, aged 14, four and 18 months, at the time, said: “If we’d been in, as would have been normal any other Friday evening, we could have been killed.
“It smashed down the entire wall at one end of the house, which is where our living room is and that’s where we’d normally all be hanging out in the evenings.
“Luckily I was away with the children for a couple of nights on holiday and my husband had nipped out briefly.
”It is thought on a neighbouring property to create a new riverside superhome had undermined a 100ft-high bank behind the houses.
Mrs Baker believes it had weakened the strength of the towering bank above, triggering the landslide.
She said: “The developer and his team pulled up a number of trees both in the bank and at its footings, so a lot of its strength and stability would have been weakened as a result of that.
“I believe the demolition work they carried out must have made the whole structure unsafe and now we have paid the price for that.”
The gaping hole left by the landslide has left the living room and an upstairs office bedroom of their six-bedroom in Hoarwithy completely exposed.
Workmen have spent several days trying to shore up the property and protect the exposed end of the house from rain.
The devastated family have had to remove valuables and furniture from the building and elsewhere.
Mrs Baker said: “It is very fortunate that none of us were at home when this happened, but it is heartbreaking to see our beautiful home where we’ve lived for 15 years reduced to this.
“It is going to take a long long time to fix it and even then we cannot be sure how stable the bank behind us is going to be. What if it again?
“We’re now having to live in makeshift accommodation while we speak to our company and work out where we go from here.
“This is all new for us and we have no idea what the future holds now. It’s incredibly stressful.”
The remains of the neighbouring detached house, which has not been occupied for more than two years, was bought by a private owner who was in the process of completing its demolition when the landslide happened.
The owner’s application to replace it with a modern four bedroom wooden home on stilts had been refused by Herefordshire Council.
Last night the architect behind the project told The Sun that they did not know the reason for the landslide but said it was indicative of climate change across the UK.
He added: “No one can know why it happened.
“Climate change has dropped a vast amount of water on the UK and around the world.
“There had been a landslide at that site before that had damaged the house which was vulnerable and needed replacing.”
The family are currently in make-shift accommodation after the landslipCredit: SWNS
The architect said he did not know what caused the landslideCredit: SWNS
The family had lived in the house for 15 yearsCredit: SWNS
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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