Homes escape damage after 'moderate tornado'

A research group is collecting information about storm damage after "evidence of a moderate tornado" in West Sussex.

The weather event happened in Pulborough just before 18:00 BST on Saturday, according to the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (Torro).

This followed a yellow Met Office thunderstorm warning in south-east England on the same day.

Torro site investigator Sarah Horton told BBC Radio Sussex she was "particularly interested in what happened next" after observing the 0.8-mile (1.3km) damage trail south of the village.

She said: "Did the thunderstorm that produced the tornado in Pulborough do anything else as it went further east?"

Torro graded the event as T2 on its scale, meaning it was a moderate tornado with a wind speed between 73mph (117km/h) and 92mph (148km/h).

The privately run organisation said no homes were damaged and asked for pictures of storm damage to be uploaded to its website.

Tim Anderson, who witnessed the tornado from his home, told BBC Radio Sussex it was "a bit scary but surprising to see" the twister moving across Pulborough Brooks nature reserve.

"The rain was beating against the window and then the window started vibrating," he said.

"It was literally like a wall of rotating debris coming off the brooks and heading downriver."

Ms Horton said she found "damaged trees, mostly along the River Arun" and it is "very clear from the track" that this was caused by a tornado.

"If you look at some of the trees you can see that they've been twisted," the storm investigator said.

"It's quite a long narrow track so it's only around 50m wide at its widest point."

She added that tornadoes are "unusual but not rare" and that Sussex experiences "a reasonable amount" of them, particularly near the coast.

Torro was established in 1974 and describes itself as a privately supported research body serving the national and international public interest.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.