Fallen tree clear up liability Council

A question about : Fallen tree clear up liability Council

A tree fell from my garden onto a road during the recent storm. Council/highways told me to tell my neighbors not to get involved (they were being helpful, and had already got stuck in) . They sent workers, but when they arrived (2 days later) they explained they would have to call a grabber lorry, and as it was my tree, I would receive a bill of unknown size in the post. Keen to avoid spending money (particularly an unknown, potentially large amount) I told them I would rather clear the tree myself. The workers took a picture of part of the edge of the fallen tree debris, which had already been pushed to the roadside , and reported back - job done. I then spent hours clearing the tree out of the road, dragging it back and burning it. Finally I received an email from the Council’s tracking system, saying the job was complete.

Please can someone tell me did the Council workers/contractor incorrectly tell me I would get billed, perhaps just to get out of doing the work themselves, possibly even while getting paid for the job?

I am happy the tree’s now cleared up, but want to understand whether I am really liable to pay for this, should it happen again.

Best answers:

• You are not liable for an act of GOD. If it damaged your house, you could claim on your insurance but, if it damaged your neighbours house they'd have to claim on thiers.
• Oh really? I suspect this is a classic Rylands vs Fletcher situation. Look up the case, I could be wrong I suppose.