HEAVY storms on Monday resulted in a tornado close to Tetbury that uprooted dozens of trees.

At least six, fully-grown sycamore trees and countless saplings were destroyed by the freak occurence in a field near Cherington.

The violent storm only last for a few minutes but also created giant hailstones.

Some of the felled trees also blocked local roads.

Andy Buchan, director of Cotswold Efficient Energy, witnessed the event.

The tornado tore through extension work currently going on at the site.

"I’ve never seen anything like it before," he said. "All of a sudden it just went berserk, there were tiles flying through the air, it looked like a vortex. It sounded like a jumbo jet landed on the roof. After ten minutes it stopped and we went outside and saw all the trees. The power of it was extraordinary."

Mr Buchan estimates that caused his company £7,500 of damage.

Office manager Simon Egerton said: "It ripped through an extension we were having which was ready for the roof to go on," he said. "It does get quite windy up here but not like that."

Kathryn Wardrop, 63, from nearby Culkerton saw the aftermath of the event and took these pictures.

She said the most astonishing thing was that gardens just 200 yards from the affected field appeared unaffected.

"For a moment I thought I was back in Kent in the storms of 1987," she said. "The damage to these trees is heart-breaking. It was really short and sharp – I would say the actual storm lasted for 20 minutes. There were hailstones the size of golfballs."

Cherrington resident Robert Wharton stopped to have a look at the scene.

"I heard about some trees being uprooted but this is incredible," he said.

Tornadoes turn at speeds in excess of 70mph and can be created by violent thunderstorms. They typically last for only two or three minutes but cause extensive damage.

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