Dramatic pictures have shown how a tornado in Northampton this weekend tore through the community gardens at Moulton Allotments.
Hundreds of eyewitnesses caught sight of the twister at around 8pm on Saturday (July 25) as it blew through the north of the town.For the Met Office to classify it as a tornado, a funnel cloud needs to touch the ground - and dozens of residents have contacted the Chronicle & Echo to confirm they saw the twister tear along the ground and fling debris into the air.
It has also left the gardeners at Moulton Allotments to pick up the pieces.
Dramatic photos by resident Bethany Newbery has shown how the tornado has up-ended sheds and trashed the community's gardens.
See the results of the tornado in our gallery below. Photos courtesy of Bethany Newbery.
Meanwhile, one Moulton resident, Joe Minney, told the Chron: "My bathroom window blew open and my blind was ripped out the fixings.
"My bins were blown over and the rubbish chucked up into the air really high.
"You couldn’t hear anything but the sheer roar of the wind as the tornado ripped through the back of the house and the allotments
"Luckily we have an eight-foot brick wall surrounding our garden so no fences fell down.
"But it was crazy. The door was open to let a breeze in but never expected a tornado to come past I couldn’t physically shut the back door.
"It was all over so quickly maybe 30 seconds or so."
The path fo the tornado has not yet been determined, but eyewitnesses have told the Chron it began in Duston and crossed near Chapel Brampton on its way to Moulton.
It comes after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for rain earlier on Saturday.
In a typical year, the UK sees around 30-35 tornadoes each year, though it is very rare that are they strong enough to cause any significant damage.
