DESPITE high winds and heavy rain battering Swindon this weekend the town was left relatively unscathed.

But one pub owner certainly wasn’t singing in the rain after the weather left him high but not dry.

Howard Taylor, the owner of The Sun Inn, in Lydiard Millicent, discovered the pub’s large marquee had blown on to its roof on Friday evening.

Firefighters were called at about 8.30pm to secure the marquee with rope before it could blow away completely .

It had hosted Halloween and bonfire night parties in the pub’s beer garden over the last fortnight and was due to be taken down at the weekend, but the extreme weather beat staff to it.

No one was in the marquee at the time of the incident.

“One minute it was there and the next a big gust of wind had taken it and spun it round 45 degrees,” said Howard, who presents the drivetime show on Heart FM.

“Staff had to keep an eye on it until the fire brigade arrived.

“I had been giving all these severe weather warnings to listeners on the radio and then this happens.

“We had a full restaurant at the time and no one was using the marquee.

“The rest of the pub seemed to be fine. This was my only area of concern.”

Howard, who used to live in Lydiard Millicent, has owned the pub since July after it had been closed for nine months.

A Wiltshire Fire and Rescue spokeswoman said: “Three crews were called from Westlea, Wootton Bassett and an aerial appliance from Swindon to Lydiard Millicent at 8.35pm on Friday.

“They used fire and rescue lines to tie the marquee down and make it safe.

“They were in attendance for about an hour.”

Elsewhere, an Old Town woman spoke of her relief after a tree narrowly missed hitting her VW car.

Katie Adams, 28, of Eastcott Hill, found the tree and scattered branches across a private drive on Saturday morning.

She said: “There was a storm going on all night. I thought the windows were going to blow in. It was lucky no damage was caused.”

A fallen tree also caused problems on the A346 at Plough Hill in Chiseldon on Saturday afternoon.

The south of England yesterday saw winds of 70mph with gusts reaching a top speed of 100mph in outlying areas, driving rain and lightning strikes.

Last night Met Office forecaster Byron Chalcraft said Swindon will have to deal with more wet and windy weather.

He said: “Blustery showers and an unsettled look can be expected with temperatures of around 12 degrees on Monday.”