Houses and cars damaged as Sussex hit by 'mini tornado'

As the county was battered by heavy rain and lightning during a thunderstorm, residents in Cherry Croft in Wick, near Littlehampton, had their homes damaged as the tornado struck.

Trees were broken in two, windows of cars and homes smashed and tiles ripped from roofs. A bench was also seen tossed into the front garden of a home following the incident.

The tornado is understood to have struck at around 11.30pm last night.

Car windows were left smashed by the tornado (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

Becki Martin, 32, said she had never seen anything like it as cars and homes were damaged in her street.

She said that cars and even vans were moved by the wind.

Becki said: "The van on the road opposite us moved and a tree had come down. My sister heard another tree going down as well. 

"We've had 20 car windows smashed. It's either a freak storm or mini tornado. The wind got insanely high for a minute or two.

"I've never seen anything like it."

A neighbour in Cherry Croft was cut on the leg by flying glass, Becki said.

Another resident described the tornado as being “very scary” and said it left “extensive damage to several cars, causing broken windows, many trees down and cars and vans moved by the wind, all in a matter of seconds”.

Residents were seen trying to return to normal after the tornado, covering broken windows with tarpaulin and clearing broken glass.

The resident said: “The street has helped each other by using tarpaulin and gazebos to cover blown car windows.”

A spokeswoman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said: “Last night, September 17, at 11.53pm, we responded to multiple incidents at Cherry Croft, Littlehampton.

“Joint fire control sent one fire engine from Littlehampton to the scene.

“Upon arrival, firefighters found that a number of properties and vehicles in the area had been damaged as a result of the storm.

“This included a tree that had fallen onto a car and a skylight had been removed by the wind, with rain water leaking into the affected property.

“Crews helped to make the scene safe and administered first aid to one resident with minor injuries.

“West Sussex County Council’s highways team were also informed of the obstruction on the highway.

“Firefighters booked away from the scene at around 12.45am.”

Windows of homes were smashed by the tornado (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

Tornadoes are a rapidly rotating column of air that reaches between the base of a storm cloud and the ground.

They form in very unsettled weather conditions as part of severe thunderstorms.

It’s not the first time this year that a tornado has been reported to have hit Sussex, with residents in the village of Herstmonceux claiming one struck in January, damaging trees and roof tiles.

Around 30 tornadoes a year are reported in the UK. While they are typically small and short-lived, they can cause structural damage if they pass over a built-up area.

The Met Office works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States to improve the science of tornado forecasts and to improve warnings.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: “In the period around midnight, some active thunderstorms moved through the region.

“The environment was not completely unfavourable for a tornado, and in similar conditions a funnel cloud was reported by Jersey Airport in the Channel Islands in the late afternoon.

“There will have been a sudden wind veer from a light south-easterly to a strong south-westerly at least gusting around 35mph in the Worthing area between 11.50pm and midnight, in association with heavy precipitation.

“With this much wind shear, in the area of wind change, it is possible that some of this spin could have been stretched by the strong convective updraughts and formed a short-lived, weak tornado.

“We have no observational evidence to support this, but it is possible.”