Great Storm 1987

Up until the morning of 16 October 1987 a warehouse measuring 60ft by 50ft stood at the centre of John Euston's haulage depot in Rattlesden.

"I arrived the morning after, around half past eight. The wind had died down then," John explains.

"It was just tremendous. The wind had blown the warehouse apart like it had exploded.

"It blew the roof off and there was asbestos laying about for yards and yards.

"The wooden rafters, they were 10 inches by two inches, had been driven into the ground by about a foot. If there'd been people there, they would have been hurt or even killed."

Close shaves

"My desk was okay, but one of the rafters had gone through the roof of the office and straight onto my chair.

"If I had started early like I should of done, sitting at that office at five o'clock, I'd have been a dead man."

The pool table remains intact

As well as the warehouse, the onsite bungalow was also destroyed. The photo on the right shows how the company's social room was left with an open air pool table.

But John is grateful that none of the company's staff was hurt - a fact which still amazes him.

"One of my lorries had left at five o'clock," John continues. "He was coming up by Stowmarket golf course and a tree fell down in front of him.

"So he got out of his cab and walked down to see. As he did that a tree fell down behind him and the lorry was stuck there for a day and a half.

"He was very lucky as well, if that had been a second or two later it would have fallen on the cab. It was as close as that."

The rear view of the destroyed warehouse

Anything happen while I was away?

"My Dad started the business in 1948 and we moved up there to Top Road in the early 60's. He had that shed built in the early 70's - so it wasn't too old.

"But he was on holiday when it happened and he came back two days later, and he just wept.

"Everything that he'd built up had been destroyed.

"But, he was alive and so was everyone else thank God."