Block of ice crashes through Hampshire conservatory after falling from plane

A block of ice the size of a bowling ball crashed through the roof of a conservatory in Clanfield, Hampshire after falling from a passing aeroplane.

The Daily Mail reports that Jeff Scriven was working from home when he heard an "almighty bang" and found that the ice had shattered all over his conservatory floor.

A large pane of glass from the roof of his conservatory was broken, and the hardwood bamboo floor was also damaged, as was the central support which holds the conservatory up.

Mr Scriven, who was working from home at the time, told the Daily Mail: "It's just lucky no one was in there at the time. There was glass everywhere, it had shattered a 6ft by 2.5ft double glazed panel in the roof. It's clearly an ice ball - it was the size of a bowling ball - and I believe it came from a plane."

He added: "I could not imagine where else it could have come from. We get a lot of planes overhead but we don't normally hear them, just see them."

The Portsmouth News reports that Mr Scriven notified the Civil Aviation Authority, which sent him a letter confirming that the incident had been logged. They also explained that it's unlikely that the responsible airline will ever be identified.

The CAA told The Portsmouth News: "Because of the high number of flights in our airspace, it's sometimes difficult to identify the exact source of an icefall, although the CAA does record reports of incidents and may investigate depending on the circumstances."

The CAA explained that although their are millions of flights each year, there are only 25 reports of ice falls and victims should contact their insurers.

Experts believe that these chunks of ice fall from planes as they fly overhead. They are made up of frozen rainwater or toilet waste.

Click on the image below to see Mr Scriven talking about the ice fall...




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