Ball of ice dropped from a passing plane crashed through roof of stunned couple and onto their living room floor

A ball of ice from an overhead jet crashed through the roof of a couple’s bungalow - landing in the middle of their living room floor.
Paul Walker, 76, a retired aerospace chemist, and his wife Deirdre, 75, were sitting in their sun-lounge when they heard a loud bang just 10ft away.
The huge ball of ice smashed into the middle of their living room after tearing through the tiled roof and plastered ceiling of their bungalow in Hulland Ward, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, today.

Icy culprit: Paul Walker pictured with the melting ball of ice that smashed through his roof leaving a foot-wide hole in his ceiling

Hole in the roof: Paul Walker stands next to the tiled roof of his bungalow in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, after it was struck by a foot-wide ball of ice

The ice mass, the size of a medicine ball, is believed to have plummeted from an aeroplane thousands of feet in the air before punching a foot-wide hole in their roof.
It is thought the ice built up on a wing or undercarriage and broke away as the landing gear came down as the jet prepared to come in to land.

The ice is believed to have built up on the wing of a plane and broken off as it came in to land

The father-of-two and grandfather-of-three said: 'It sounded like someone had pushed over a glass cabinet.
'It was an enormous bang followed by a crashing noise.
'Just a loud shattering noise, that’s all I can describe it as.
'It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever heard before, which is not surprising really.'
Mr Walker worked for Aerospace firm Rolls-Royce in nearby Derby as an environmental chemist and was responsible for monitoring pollution from planes - but lumps of falling ice were never part of his remit.
He said: 'I’ve heard of it and I’ve read about it, but even though you know these things happen, you never expect it’s going to happen to you.'
A spokesman for Derbyshire Police said the incident had been logged as a 'natural disaster'.
The added: 'We were called at around 1.20pm to reports of a large piece of ice going through a roof but nobody was injured.
'We have referred the incident to the Aviation Authority.'

Inspection: Mr Walker holds up a large piece of his tiled roof that will now need to be replaced