Instructor £13,000 in debt after tree falls on car

A driving instructor whose car was written off after a large tree branch fell on it said she has been left £13,000 in debt after the local authority responsible for maintaining the tree refused to accept liability.

Louisa Judge, 64, from Hainault, London, was giving a driving lesson when a branch fell on to her Ford Fiesta close to the Wake Arms roundabout in Epping Forest, Essex.

She said she was in more than £13,000 worth of debt because the City of London Corporation, which manages Epping Forest, has denied responsibility and she has had to buy a new vehicle.

A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation said it recognised and regretted "the impact this unfortunate incident".

They added that an assessment by its insurers found that the authority was not liable, but a report showed it knew the tree needed surgery within a year of its 2 December 2024 inspection.

"I can't get through to anyone, and they won't talk to me," Judge said.

"I never asked for thousands of pounds. I just wanted my costs covered. I have lost a lot of money. And I feel I'm the only one who has financially had to pay out," she added.

Judge explained she did not claim against her own insurance policy after the incident in December 2024 because her insurance company said it would not pay for a dual-control car, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She calculated the cost of a hire car over Christmas would be about £900 a week.

"For three weeks, that was going to cost me nearly £3,000 just to hire a car until I got myself sorted out," she added.

She felt that claiming against herself would have meant she would have had to pay for her own dual control, which was worth about £5,000.

"Honestly, in my head I thought they would do the right thing, and that's why I didn't claim against myself," she said.

Her son, Barnaby, expressed his own anger over the situation and said it took five men to lift the oak branch off the car, which only escaped more serious damage because of the triangular learner sign on its roof.

"My mum is in such a dire financial situation because of this now; she can't afford to do anything," he said.

He added that he feared his mother would not be able to retire and she had had to spend her own savings.

"We carry out regular inspections of our trees, and take any necessary action within the expected timeframes and to industry standards," a spokesperson for the City of London Corporation said.

"In this case, an assessment by our insurers found we were not liable. We recognise and regret the impact this unfortunate incident has had on Ms Judge."

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