A woman was left counting her blessings after a huge tree collapsed and narrowly missed her and her baby daughter.

Jessica Choy was walking along Nibthwaite Road, Harrow, with nine-month-old Aoife when “a large gust of wind” uprooted a tree, causing it to crash to the pavement.

Fortunately she managed to avoid the fall by a matter of inches but the incident still had a lasting impact.

She said: “It feels surreal even now to think that if we had left slightly earlier or walked a bit faster there may have been a very different and nasty outcome.

“My little one is only nine months so I’m not sure either of us would have survived. I’m very grateful that we missed it.”

The new mother said the close call left her in shock and caused her heart to beat fast for several minutes.

She urged people to take extra care when walking in adverse weather conditions, a position that was reiterated by the local authority.

Cllr Graham Henson, responsible for the environment at Harrow Council, said: “We regularly inspect our trees on public land.

“Any decision to remove them would be based on the condition, location and the likelihood of collapse – our priority will always be the safety of our residents.

“Unfortunately trees can come down during adverse weather conditions and when they do, residents are asked to report these to the council so that we can get them removed.”