A tornado warning has been issued as the county is being battered by strong winds.

The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (Torro) has announced the alert today until 4pm today for much of the south of England, including all of Sussex and parts of Wales.

Torro has warned of potential for isolated brief tornadoes, strong winds, hail and even isolated lightning.

A spokesman for Torro said: "Two sets of showery rain may bring squally gusts, and the small chance of one or two brief tornadoes - the highest chance of gusts and isolated tornadoes appears to be over parts of central southern England, the south east Midlands, East Anglia, and South East England later on Thursday morning and into Thursday afternoon."

It comes as the county is in the throes of a yellow weather warning for wind with parts of the county set to be hit by storm-force gusts of up to 70mph.

The warning is in place until 6pm today.

Sussex is no stranger to tornadoes, having been hit by a growing number in recent months.

Two tornadoes struck Littlehampton and Wick within weeks of each other last autumn.

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.

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.