Woman hit by falling tree trunk 'lucky to be alive'

A mum has said she is "lucky to be alive" after being hit on the head by part of a tree trunk that broke away during a storm.

Nina Lunn was walking through Allestree Park in Derby at about 11:00 BST on Sunday morning when Storm Boelo brought gusts of over 50mph to the East Midlands.

The injury caused bleeding and concussion requiring hospital treatment for the 42-year-old.

"The hospital staff said 'wow, you're lucky to be here'. The paramedics were actually quite worried, especially because my blood pressure was very high," she told the BBC.

"It just shows how dangerous the weather can be."

Lunn said she had been a keen walker from a young age and valued getting outdoors multiple times a day as a way of managing her ADHD.

On the weekend of her birthday, Lunn was keen to brave the storm for a quick stroll before celebrating with her family in Yorkshire.

"I stuck to the footpaths because of the storm, thinking that I'd be OK. I wasn't in the woods or anything," she said.

The mother-of-one was chatting to a friend via her headphones when she heard the tree snap but did not have time to react.

"My teeth shattered together. Then I could just feel the blood dripping down my face. I panicked," she said, having been knocked to the floor by the impact.

"My AirPods had been knocked out of my ears. I managed to grab my phone and tell my friend 'how fast can you get to Allestree Park? I need you'."

She used her fleece sleeve to stop the bleeding and was approached by a woman with a pushchair.

"Had it been 30 seconds previous, it could have got the baby, and to be honest, I am lucky to be here," said Lunn.

"The paramedics were actually quite worried, especially because my blood pressure was very high. The swelling on my face, the left side of my head is quite bad."

Lunn rushed to the A&E department of the Royal Derby Hospital where she had her head glued and returned on Monday with further concussion, swelling, blurred vision and high blood pressure.

The teaching assistant attempted another walk on Tuesday but felt "really, really nervous" so intends to spend the remainder of the half-term holiday resting.

"I've been ill every single half-term for the last year and was really excited to have a good one, but it's just not been meant to be," she said.

A Royal Derby Hospital spokesperson said: "We're very happy to hear that Nina is doing well after what must have been a really frightening experience."

Meanwhile the Met Office has advised people stay to indoors as much as possible during stormy weather.

"Being outside in high winds makes you more vulnerable to injury. If you do go out, try not to walk or shelter close to buildings and trees," it said.

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