A FAMILY had a miraculous escape on Monday when their car was almost crushed by a falling tree.

The incident happened on the main road out of Newton Abbot towards Bovey Tracey shortly before 10am.

After hours of gales and heavy rain the mature beech came down across the A382 just as the grey Ford Focus was passing.

Luckily the couple and young child inside emerged uninjured.

Police and firefighters were called to the scene where the road remained blocked in both directions for several hours as county highways engineers attempted to clear the debris.