A “mini-tornado” brought down trees, damaged property and even lifted cats in the air, an eye-witness has said.
People living in Chobham in Surrey said the wind hit the area at about 17:00 GMT on Saturday. The storm is also reported to have swept through Sussex, from Midhurst, Petworth and Fittleworth to Crawley. UK Power Networks said about 13,000 customers were left without power in Kent, Sussex and Surrey after storms on Saturday. On Sunday, the firm’s spokesman said the number had been “significantly reduced”, although about 1,100 customers were still affected. Fire crews from East and West Sussex said they took dozens of weather-related calls on Saturday afternoon and early evening. Surrey Fire and Rescue said its control room took a series of calls reporting fallen trees and damaged roofs across the county. Feral cats: Shirley Blay, who keeps horses at the Jolly Blossom Stables on Station Road, Chobham, said: “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 – about 6ft off the ground – they just went round like a big paper bag.” She said the people and animals who were caught up in the tornado were uninjured. – BBC Environment
