'Mini tornado' hits Sussex seaside town: Trees fell on cars, windows smashed in properties whilst person treated for injuries

In Littlehampton, photos that emerged this morning (Monday, September 18) painted a scene of destruction, with houses damaged and car windows smashed, whilst trees and brick walls fell over.

There have also been reports of rain water leaking into properties after what eye-witnesses called a ‘mini tornado’.

Becki Martin, who was inside her home in Cherry Croft at the time of the storm, said: “We were awake, watching the lightning. It was continuingly going.

“It just went completely mental for about a minute, in all the rain and the wind, about 11.30pm.

"We saw a van shake violently and move three feet, we thought it would go over.

"We went to help our neighbours when we realised that two of our cars have had five of their windows taken out. A couple of trees were down. A tree had partly landed on my dad's car.

"A lot of the neighbours came out helping each other. We were knocking on doors of people whose cars had been damaged so we could stop water getting into their cars.

"We are waiting on Autoglass to hopefully come and fix the windows. There's about 20 odd cars on the street with busted windows.”

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service confirmed crews responded to ‘multiple incidents’ in Cherry Croft shortly before midnight.

“Joint Fire Control sent one fire engine from Littlehampton to the scene,” a spokesperson said.

"Upon arrival firefighters found that a number of properties and vehicles in the area had been damaged as a result of the storm.

"This included a tree that had fallen onto a car and a sky light had been removed by the wind, with rain water leaking into the affected property.

"Crews helped to make the scene safe and administered first aid to one resident with minor injuries. West Sussex County Council’s highways team were also informed of the obstruction on the highway.”

Firefighters booked away from the scene at around 12.45am.

A spokesperson for West Sussex Highways said an officer would be attending Cherry Croft to ‘establish if any highway damage had occurred’ and ‘to arrange for any action needed’.

The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO) reported that it was ‘aware of severe wind damage in Littlehampton’, adding: “We intend to conduct a site investigation this week to determine whether or not this was a tornado.”

It comes after thunder and torrential rain struck large parts of Sussex overnight. Stormy weather was seen by the majority of the South Coast into the early hours after a yellow weather warning was issued.

Weather tracker lightningmaps.org revealed there were hundreds of strikes of lightning overnight.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “Early thundery showers in the east will soon clear on Monday morning as an persistent band of rain already in the west quickly moves eastwards. Feeling fresher compared to recent days.”

The yellow warning was in place between 1pm on Sunday and 6am on Monday.

Residents were warned there was a ‘small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly’, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.

A spokesperson added: “Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services.

"There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost. Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.

"There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life.”