Climping family's frightening trip through '˜tornado'

Paul Griffiths, of Appletree Walk, was driving back from near Guildford, when he had a narrow escape near Wisborough Green.

“I was coming home from Bramley with my father and son in the car, as we reached the back of Fishers Farm a huge section of barn roof came across the field at us, we missed it by about 15ft or so.

“The roof was blowing like a piece of paper in the wind,” he said, adding it had ‘huge lumps of wood attached’.

“It covered the entire road and into the next field over the road,” he said. “About six of us tried to move it but we had no luck so called the police.

“It was only after the event we realised how lucky we were. If it hit us, despite being in a large car, I’m sure we would have been seriously injured or worse.

“The striking thing was how localised it was, I don’t know if it was a tornado as some have described but it was Mother Nature at her most frightening and a day we’ll never forget.”

The unusually-strong winds were a result of an active cold front which swept very quickly southeastwards across Wales and England.

Winds gusting to nearly 70 miles per hour combined with heavy rain, thunder and hail, affecting many places for a very short time, bringing down trees and causing damage.