Hampshire hit by tornado - Met Office
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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.
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