Walker heard 'crack' before near miss from branch
Yuan Zhang/New Crown Inn"I heard a noise as I was approaching the gate – it was like a fire-cracking noise."
That was the sound that alerted 40-year-old landscape architect Yuan Zhang to danger during her daily dog walk on Tuesday evening when leaving Locksbrook Cemetery in Lower Weston, Bath.
She grabbed her three-year-old cockapoo Mei Mei and went through the cemetery gate seconds before a huge tree branch came crashing down, missing her by just 3ft (1m).
Zhang went home and forgot about the near miss until a friend sent her dramatic CCTV footage captured from the New Crown Inn across the road.
Zhang said Mei Mei had become curious when hearing the cracking noises and went up to the tree's trunk.
"I realised there might be a problem very soon, so I grabbed her lead and tried to leave the cemetery as soon as possible," she said.
"I knew it would be some falling branches, but I didn't know it would happen that soon and be that big."
Zhang said Mei Mei was "really terrified in that moment" but was back to enjoying life, chasing squirrels and running around when they walked the same route earlier.
She said she felt famous and sent the video to friends around the world who were shocked at first and did not recognise her.
She said the council "should take more care" of the trees at the edge of the cemetery, which are close to the busy road.
A spokesperson for Bath and North East Somerset Council, which manages the cemetery, said staff were "very relieved no-one was harmed," adding the tree was found to be in good health in June 2025.
Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for communications and community, said council workers had inspected the tree and carried out further works on Thursday.
"They found signs of structural weakness within the branch that would not have been visible when the tree was inspected last June," she said.
Rigby said the tree team thought "exceptionally hot weather followed by heavy rain were likely to have contributed to this unforeseeable event".
Mature, seemingly healthy trees suddenly shedding a large branch in summer is a well-known phenomenon known as "summer branch drop".
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