j.m@talk
05-03-2005, 07:16 PM
Fwoar ............ & I missed it :rolleyes:
http://img163.echo.cx/img163/7457/getedimageaspx5cr.jpg
Devastation in wake of the twister
A tornado carved a terrifying five-mile trail of destruction through the villages of Lancashire.
The twister – around 1,500 feet high – damaged around 30 homes and triggered power cuts across Walton-le-Dale, Bamber Bridge, Hoghton and Samlesbury as frightened residents swamped the emergency services.
The phenomenon was spotted from the top of Kittlingbourne Brow, Walton-le-Dale, by professional photographer Mike Inkley. He saw it forming over Hoghton Bottoms.
He said: "I've never seen a tornado in Britain before, although I've seen a couple in the States. But it's different when it's in your own backyard.
"Then, right in front of us, it just wound up and touched down. I think it probably ran for about four or five miles.
"The cloud it came out of was probably about 30,000ft so the tornado itself would have been about 1,500ft tall. It began in Hoghton Bottoms, ran through Hoghton and round the back of Salmesbury by British Aerospace."
Marketing manager Chris Williams was driving back to his home in Fox Lane, Hoghton, when he saw the twister and followed it. He said:"I'd never seen one before
"It was wispy at first and it seemed to move around in a circle. From where I was, it appeared to be near Samlesbury. I just thought, 'That's a twister.' I didn't believe it. I've seen them on TV but this is the first time I've ever seen one in real life."
As he arrived home, he realised that the tornado had got there before him. He said: "When I turned into Fox Lane, it was like driving into a warzone.
"When I got into my driveway, there was the remains of someone's shed in my garden. There were pieces of debris everywhere.
"I went up to the bedroom and looked out and I noticed that it had been very selective. It took one panel out of my back fence and that was it.
"The weirdest thing was that there were little twigs just stuck in the ground as though somebody had pushed them in."
The worst damage is thought to have been sustained around the Methuen Estate area of Hoghton.
Resident James Gardner watched in disbelief as a trampoline landed in his garden on Fox Lane. He said: "Apparently, it had come from about three or four hundred yards away. It was a proper-sized one too.
"It had been weird weather all day – chucking it down and then, next minute, brilliant sunshine. One minute, it was absolutely lovely and then a trampoline crashes through the fence!"
Five fire engines, an incident support unit and an aerial ladder platform attended the scene and the last crews left at midnight.
Leading firefighter Martyn Ball, from Bamber Bridge, was first on the scene. He said: "I was greeted with 20 to 30 properties with varying degrees of structural damage from trees on properties, to chimney stacks fallen through roofs to missing garage roofs and missing tiles.
"It was localised to probably a 100m wide line. It was a case of making safe what we could and mitigating any damage.
"A lot of people were shell shocked as to what had gone on.There were probably 50 to 60 people milling around. Amazingly nobody was injured."
The Dargavel family, of Daub Hall Farm, Daub Hall Lane, Hoghton, had to stay with family after the tornado cut off the power supply to their home and damaged 15 caravans on their land.
Mum-of-three Rebecca Dargavel, 33, said it was terrifying: "I was looking through the window with my daughter and I could see all clouds, and the speed they were moving.
"I was outside with my husband and he said, 'Oh my God.' The trees were bent right over.We could see everything from the garden blowing up and spinning round.
"We ran in the house. You could feel it rushing behind you. As we got into the house we couldn't shut the doors, my husband was struggling it was that bad. I was absolutely petrified."
Mrs Dargavel's father Freddy Hudson, 68, from Brindle Road in Bamber Bridge got a frantic call from his daughter and went to the farm.
He said: "I couldn't believe the damage to the caravans. One caravan had two massive planks of timber right through it, they must have been quarter of a ton each. It must have been an absolutely terrifying experience."
Former sheet metal worker Thomas Nield, 81, was at home when the tornado hit his house in Methuen Avenue, Hoghton.
He said: "I was just coming out of the bedroom when I heard this crash. When I looked out of the front door, there were slates and bricks everywhere and tiles off the roof.
"The garage has gone. It's now on top of my greenhouse and on top of my car. I'm not so good, I'm a bit shaky to say the least."
The roof of Methuen Avenue resident James Holden's home was damaged by the tornado and his car was hit by debris.
Mr Holden, 28, said: "We lost quite a few roof tiles and there was a hole. it was like load of hail stones which got louder and louder. We have a four-month old baby so went upstairs to see if he was okay and he was fast asleep.
"It just went grey and all the stones were hitting the window and chunks of fence panels were flying past.It was like a big finger, something out of the Wizard of Oz."
Gary Barlow, 36, was on his way to visit his father in Gregson Lane, when he stopped the car to take a photograph of the tornado on his mobile phone.
Mr Barlow, who lives in Bury, said: "I got to Hoghton post office and I saw it actually rolling above my head. It looked like smoke turning in a circle and the first funnel hit the ground. It was fantastic. I couldn't believe it."
Roland Henderson, 58, saw the tornado from his home in Grove Street, Bamber Bridge. He said: "I was at home on the PC and my grandson was looking out of the window.
"I could see a very low cloud coming over the field and it started to form a spiral."
Helen Griffin, national forecaster at the Meteorological Office, based in Exeter, said: "We can get a tornado at any time of the year, and it just so happens that the conditions were perfect in this area in this case."
http://www.lep.co.uk/images/logo.jpg
http://www.lep.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=73&ArticleID=1015710
http://img163.echo.cx/img163/7457/getedimageaspx5cr.jpg
Devastation in wake of the twister
A tornado carved a terrifying five-mile trail of destruction through the villages of Lancashire.
The twister – around 1,500 feet high – damaged around 30 homes and triggered power cuts across Walton-le-Dale, Bamber Bridge, Hoghton and Samlesbury as frightened residents swamped the emergency services.
The phenomenon was spotted from the top of Kittlingbourne Brow, Walton-le-Dale, by professional photographer Mike Inkley. He saw it forming over Hoghton Bottoms.
He said: "I've never seen a tornado in Britain before, although I've seen a couple in the States. But it's different when it's in your own backyard.
"Then, right in front of us, it just wound up and touched down. I think it probably ran for about four or five miles.
"The cloud it came out of was probably about 30,000ft so the tornado itself would have been about 1,500ft tall. It began in Hoghton Bottoms, ran through Hoghton and round the back of Salmesbury by British Aerospace."
Marketing manager Chris Williams was driving back to his home in Fox Lane, Hoghton, when he saw the twister and followed it. He said:"I'd never seen one before
"It was wispy at first and it seemed to move around in a circle. From where I was, it appeared to be near Samlesbury. I just thought, 'That's a twister.' I didn't believe it. I've seen them on TV but this is the first time I've ever seen one in real life."
As he arrived home, he realised that the tornado had got there before him. He said: "When I turned into Fox Lane, it was like driving into a warzone.
"When I got into my driveway, there was the remains of someone's shed in my garden. There were pieces of debris everywhere.
"I went up to the bedroom and looked out and I noticed that it had been very selective. It took one panel out of my back fence and that was it.
"The weirdest thing was that there were little twigs just stuck in the ground as though somebody had pushed them in."
The worst damage is thought to have been sustained around the Methuen Estate area of Hoghton.
Resident James Gardner watched in disbelief as a trampoline landed in his garden on Fox Lane. He said: "Apparently, it had come from about three or four hundred yards away. It was a proper-sized one too.
"It had been weird weather all day – chucking it down and then, next minute, brilliant sunshine. One minute, it was absolutely lovely and then a trampoline crashes through the fence!"
Five fire engines, an incident support unit and an aerial ladder platform attended the scene and the last crews left at midnight.
Leading firefighter Martyn Ball, from Bamber Bridge, was first on the scene. He said: "I was greeted with 20 to 30 properties with varying degrees of structural damage from trees on properties, to chimney stacks fallen through roofs to missing garage roofs and missing tiles.
"It was localised to probably a 100m wide line. It was a case of making safe what we could and mitigating any damage.
"A lot of people were shell shocked as to what had gone on.There were probably 50 to 60 people milling around. Amazingly nobody was injured."
The Dargavel family, of Daub Hall Farm, Daub Hall Lane, Hoghton, had to stay with family after the tornado cut off the power supply to their home and damaged 15 caravans on their land.
Mum-of-three Rebecca Dargavel, 33, said it was terrifying: "I was looking through the window with my daughter and I could see all clouds, and the speed they were moving.
"I was outside with my husband and he said, 'Oh my God.' The trees were bent right over.We could see everything from the garden blowing up and spinning round.
"We ran in the house. You could feel it rushing behind you. As we got into the house we couldn't shut the doors, my husband was struggling it was that bad. I was absolutely petrified."
Mrs Dargavel's father Freddy Hudson, 68, from Brindle Road in Bamber Bridge got a frantic call from his daughter and went to the farm.
He said: "I couldn't believe the damage to the caravans. One caravan had two massive planks of timber right through it, they must have been quarter of a ton each. It must have been an absolutely terrifying experience."
Former sheet metal worker Thomas Nield, 81, was at home when the tornado hit his house in Methuen Avenue, Hoghton.
He said: "I was just coming out of the bedroom when I heard this crash. When I looked out of the front door, there were slates and bricks everywhere and tiles off the roof.
"The garage has gone. It's now on top of my greenhouse and on top of my car. I'm not so good, I'm a bit shaky to say the least."
The roof of Methuen Avenue resident James Holden's home was damaged by the tornado and his car was hit by debris.
Mr Holden, 28, said: "We lost quite a few roof tiles and there was a hole. it was like load of hail stones which got louder and louder. We have a four-month old baby so went upstairs to see if he was okay and he was fast asleep.
"It just went grey and all the stones were hitting the window and chunks of fence panels were flying past.It was like a big finger, something out of the Wizard of Oz."
Gary Barlow, 36, was on his way to visit his father in Gregson Lane, when he stopped the car to take a photograph of the tornado on his mobile phone.
Mr Barlow, who lives in Bury, said: "I got to Hoghton post office and I saw it actually rolling above my head. It looked like smoke turning in a circle and the first funnel hit the ground. It was fantastic. I couldn't believe it."
Roland Henderson, 58, saw the tornado from his home in Grove Street, Bamber Bridge. He said: "I was at home on the PC and my grandson was looking out of the window.
"I could see a very low cloud coming over the field and it started to form a spiral."
Helen Griffin, national forecaster at the Meteorological Office, based in Exeter, said: "We can get a tornado at any time of the year, and it just so happens that the conditions were perfect in this area in this case."
http://www.lep.co.uk/images/logo.jpg
http://www.lep.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=73&ArticleID=1015710