Hampshire hit by tornado - Met Office

A tornado caused damage to cars and buildings today when it swept through Hampshire, the Met Office said.

Police and emergency services received scores of calls from midday until about 1.30pm as what was described as a tornado moved from Romsey, across to Winchester and east to the Petersfield and Liss area.

Hampshire police recorded incidents of trees down on properties, cars and roads in the areas, but no-one was injured. At least 25 trees were reported down, and electricity lines were also affected.

One person called about trees down in Twyford near Winchester and told the operator: "There is total carnage across the road."

An elderly man who witnessed the freak weather suffered shock, a police spokeswoman said.

Shop worker Samantha Pritchard from Twyford Post Office in the village saw the tornado go past.

"All the leaves were swirling around in circles in the road and it was raining so heavily we could not see," she said.

"There were also trees knocked down further up the road."

The tornado was accompanied by strong winds and torrential rain with several inches falling in minutes in Winchester.

A Met Office spokeswoman said there had been several reports to them that the damage had been caused by a tornado.

In neighbouring West Sussex, a 61-year-old woman suffered a serious leg injury after cladding fell from a block of flats under construction in Crawley at 1pm today.

The unnamed woman, from Crawley, was taken to the East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, Surrey, after high winds caused the cladding to fall from the external wall of the building.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is investigating the incident along with Sussex Police, Crawley Borough Council and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.