Cats were lifted in the air like a ‘big paper bag’ when a mini-tornado swept through parts of the home counties. an eyewitness has claimed.
High winds brought down trees and damaged property as bad weather hit towns and villages in Surrey and Sussex at about 5pm yesterday.
However, some have claimed they saw a mini-tornado in Chobham in Surrey, which also swept through Midhurst, Petworth, Fittleworth and Crawley in Sussex.
Shirley Blay, who keeps horses at a stables in Chobham, told BBC News: ‘It was a mini-tornado, I can’t describe it as anything less.
‘It started with very heavy rain, hailstones and very strong wind and all of a sudden, the wind was very, very strong, to the point of lifting roofs.
‘Stable roofs were shaking and lifting and my granddaughter went to make some food up for the pony and the shed she was in lifted.
‘She jumped out of it and it just shattered, it was thrown backwards and broke into four pieces.
‘We’ve got four feral cats in the yard and they were being lifted off the ground, they just went round like a big paper bag.’
None of the animals affected were injured, she added.
About 13,000 households were left without power in Surrey, Sussex and Kent after the bad weather, UK Power Networks said, although that number had been reduced to 1,100 by today.
Firefighters in Surrey said they had received a number of calls on Saturday about fallen trees and damaged roofs throughout the county.