A Rotorua man is thanking his lucky stars after a large tree was blown down only inches away from his home.
Steve Holmes was letting his dog out on his Fenton Park property last night when he noticed a big tree was sitting extremely close to his house.
"The dog had totally freaked out so I let him out ... I didn't feel or hear anything though!"
Holmes discovered the mammoth tree had tumbled during strong winds.
He said if the tree had fallen any other way, significant damage would have been caused and people could have been at risk.