A FORMER Weymouth man has told of the devastation of falling trees and black outs as New Yorkers hunkered down from Superstorm Sandy.

James Macey, 34, who grew up in Weymouth before moving to America, has described living through the state of emergency in the New York City borough Brooklyn.

Mr Macey, his wife Melissa and two children Benjamin, four, and Nathanial, 16 months, live in the Park Slope area where they have been stuck since the storm struck on Sunday night.

He said: “It’s been scary to say the least.

“There was a tremendous amount of damage in my neighbourhood and many trees are down.

“The day Sandy hit we couldn’t even leave the apartment, the subways were down and there was no transportation working.”

He added: “A lot of people didn’t think it was going to be as bad as it is.

“I went to the supermarket on Saturday, the day before it hit and I actually got the last case of water there.

“Everyone has been stockpiling stuff. There’s such a lot of excitement.”

Mr Macey lived in Moorside Close, Weymouth from 1986, attending St John’s Primary School, Wey Valley School and Weymouth College before going to university in London in 2000.

At university, he met his now wife Melissa, an American, and went to work for Bloomberg financial news service in New Jersey ‘right before 9/11’.

Now Mr Macey works in New York, near Times Square, as a portfolio manager.

His brother Alex, 31, lives in the Lodmoor area of Weymouth and his mum Sue lives in Overcombe Corner. Mr Macey returned to Weymouth this summer for the Olympic torch relay when heavy rain struck.

But he said that that was nothing compared to Superstorm Sandy, which has terrifyingly felled four trees in his busy urban neighbourhood, crushing the cars parked along the streets.

Mr Macey said: “We’re just completely shut off because the tunnels are flooded and the bridges are shut. When the storm hit it was quite scary because there were very, very strong winds.”

His mother Sue Macey is relieved James and his family and her brother Harry are relatively safe.

Mrs Macey, of Overcombe Corner, said: “My brother Harry in Washington first alerted me that there was a storm gathering and it was going to be a great big one.

“As soon as you hear from them you start to breathe a bit easier.”

All Saints School Head for DC

A PARTY from All Saints School in Weymouth is heading to Washington DC after sheltering from Superstorm Sandy in Boston, The 79-strong group cancelled its stay in New York because of the devastation but enjoyed sightseeing in Boston before heading to the American capital.

A spokesman said: “New York is closed down and school parties that have been cooped up in hotels in New York for four days are being transferred up to Boston where we are.

“While it is a shame that we shall not be going to New York, we are pleased to have the schedule back on track for the final three days and to have been safe.”

The party is due to return home on Sunday.