Mother and baby 'grateful to be alive' after Storm Ciaran blows in windows in horrifying footage

Storm Ciaran is huffing, puffing and nearly blowing houses down.

This mum said she feels 'lucky to be alive' after 100mph winds blew her bedroom windows in as she and her baby slept.

Jessica O'Reilly was woken by the powerful gusts battering her home in St Helier, Jersey, in the middle of the night.

Take a look here:

She was resting in bed while her three-month-old daughter slept in a cot next to her, who also appeared to have been disturbed by the worrying weather.

Incredibly, a baby monitor captured the moment the mum was forced to scoop up little Penelope and rush to safety as the window smashed.

Jessica explained it 'felt like the whole house was going to collapse' as Storm Ciaran shook the property.

Footage shows how she had just seconds to grab her daughter as ferocious winds blew in the bedroom window.

ITV

The glass shattered and sent shards flying towards them both - landing where they had been sleeping just moments earlier.

Jessica told ITV: "It felt like something was going to go wrong, and then the glass all came in. It was so loud.

"I just grabbed her [Penelope] and ran downstairs.

"There was a lot of glass that came in, and I'm just lucky that I grabbed her when I did because there was a load of glass in her bed, on the bed, all over on the floor, all over. So we're just lucky to be alive really."

She said the close call captured on the baby monitor was 'hard to watch'.

Luckily, the mother and daughter escaped safely and checked into a nearby hotel following the startling wakeup call.

Dozens of other people in Jersey were forced to evacuate their homes last night (2 November).

ITV

A red weather warning is in place for the Channel Islands, which has so far been the worst hit.

Trees have been torn from the ground, roofs were torn off houses and trampolines were swept onto train tracks.

Officials in Jersey declared a 'major incident' as 100mph winds wreaked havoc - forcing airports and schools to close.

Authorities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight followed suit as they braced for a fierce battering.

Local fire service officials have warned there is a 'potential risk to life', as well as damage to buildings.

All flights from Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney airports on Thursday have been cancelled.

Brits have also been warned to be wary of falling trees and flooding, as well as high tides and strong winds in coastal areas.

Topics: Parenting, Weather, UK News

Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

@livburke_