Gareth and Luke Sherman, left and right, near where part of a macrocarpa tree fell in front of them in Golf Rd, Paraparaumu Beach.
Paraparaumu Beach twins Gareth and Luke Sherman, 18, had an unnerving experience yesterday afternoon.
The pair, who had been to lunch at the Paraparaumu Beach shops area, were walking home, in fine conditions, along a footpath in Golf Rd, when part of a large macrocarpa tree broke off and landed only metres in front of them.
The debris, which was soon cleared by people with chainsaws, covered the footpath and one lane of the road had to be coned off.
"It was a bit scary," Luke admitted.
"Luckily we weren't injured."
Gareth said, "It was more like a fright to be honest."
The road has a number of mature macrocarpa trees behind a wire fence on the eastern side.
A Golf Rd resident, who didn't want to be named, said she had contacted Kapiti Coast District Council about the trees after a large branch had snapped off earlier in the year late at night.
"We don't dislike trees but they need to be looked after and the large branches trimmed."
She showed a letter from council, dated February, which said an assessment of the trees had been done and "the trees were found to be in a safe condition".
A council spokesperson said, "These trees are the responsibility of the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, as they sit on their land.
"As the tree that fell on Thursday was partially obstructing the footpath and the road, council crews attended the scene and supported the clean up.
"As it's still unclear exactly why the tree fell we'll be liaising with the landowners to investigate the cause."
Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club general manager Leo Barber said the club did maintenance on trees "from time to time like taking out dead wood and looking after the hangers and things like that".
"It's like any large tree around the community, I guess, that sometimes they're prone to this behaviour I guess, but I'm not a tree expert.
"It's certainly something that's not great but the site has been cleared and made safe."
