Miracle as house destroyed by Storm Bert has been empty for years

A house ripped apart by Storm Bert was the family home of a transport manager who lived in the detached property his whole life.

Since his death four years ago, the white-walled house in tranquil Garnswllt, near Ammanford in south west Wales, had stood empty.

The building was ripped open by the weekend storm that tore through parts of the UK at speeds of up to 82mph.

Neighbours heard a substantial chunk of the building crash to the ground in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The building was subsequently declared unsafe and a digger began the demolition of number 67 in Lon Y Felin on Tuesday.

It has now been completely demolished. Bricks, concrete, timber, broken glass, window fittings, slate roof tiles and even chest drawers swathe the land on which it once stood.

The building was built by its last occupant's father and grandfather, according to neighbours.

One, sound engineer Mike Forwood, 64, said: 'The last person to live there was a lovely old guy called Hayden, but since his death around four years ago, it's been unoccupied.

'It's a blessing no one was living there when this awful storm blew in because they may not have survived it. It tore a massive hole in the house. Most of one side fell down as the storm blew through. It made one hell of a noise.

'To be honest, the building wasn't in the best of shape since Hayden died. None of the other houses in the village seem to have been damaged much.'

It is believed the owner, a former transport manager, left the property to his only child, a daughter, now in her 60s and believed to live elsewhere.

Mr Forwood said the weekend storm had been 'immense'.

He added: 'It was incredibly loud.'

He said the sight of rubble opposite his home had left him feeling 'very sad', adding:

'Hayden lived there all his life. It was built by his father and grandfather and was a joyous family home.'