A terrified couple fear being crushed if towering trees next to their home are toppled by Storm Ciara this weekend.

Sue Montgomery and Trevor Greenslade are battening down the hatches in Whitstable and bracing themselves for gusts of 80mph to hit.

The worried pair "feel like prisoners in their own home" - and only this week a 50ft poplar crashed down just metres away from the bungalow.

They have desperately tried to track the owner of land adjacent to their home in South View Road to get the giant trees cut down.

Ms Montgomery, 56, said: "We are worried because of the forecast. If a tree fell down in the week with little wind then what will happen this weekend?

"It is only a matter of time before one falls on our house or a person.

"A tree fell down about 30 years ago and hit the roof of our bungalow. It took all the guttering down and the tiles.

"Various branches have come off over the years and fell down onto the path."

An amber weather warning for wind has been issued from 6pm on Saturday evening and all day Sunday until midnight.

The couple, who have been together for 37 years, are anxious a tree could smash into their bedroom while they sleep as it is the closest room to the land.

They also have two vehicles and a caravan which they say are at risk of being hit.

Ms Montgomery, who works at the EMS factory in Herne Bay, said the trees are "dangerously high" and are lined along the side of the bungalow.

She added: "[Trevor] doesn’t sleep because he is constantly worrying that a tree is going to come down."

Mr Greenslade, who has Parkinson's disease, has even tried to cut it down himself.

"We feel like prisoners in our home," his wife added. "He is stuck in the house as it is because of the illness but this makes it worse.

"He is quite often on the phone asking what we should do about the caravan - we can move that but we can’t move the house."

It is not known who owns the land - which is adjacent to Duncan Downs and the Thanet Way.

Ms Montgomery emailed Canterbury and Whitstable MP Rosie Duffield who attempted to help them - with no luck.

Seasalter councillor and Friends of Duncan Downs volunteer Ashley Clark today dashed to help to remove the fallen 50ft tree, as it was stopping dog walkers accessing the village green.

He and his team of wardens hurried to the scene and used a chainsaw to saw through the poplar.

"We are quicker than most people would be," he said. "At no expense to the public purse."

Read more: All the latest news from Whitstable