Peak District village battered by possible tornado

Mrs Ryan suspected the pub was hit by a tornado

Strong winds, that have been compared to a tornado, have taken down trees, blown over walls and taken off roofs in a Derbyshire village.

Severe gusts hit Great Hucklow in the Peak District at about 06:00 GMT.

Angela Ryan, who runs in a pub in the village, said one of their solid wood garden tables was blown over a 5ft (1.5m) fence.

The Met Office said it was not able to confirm if it was a tornado but said it certainly could not be ruled out.

Mrs Ryan said she was already awake from the noise of the storm when she heard a "loud bang" outside.

She and her husband went to see what had happened and the damage was extensive.

"We've got a really old copper beech in the garden that had been split in two.

"A length of fencing all the way down the garden, was totally uprooted.

"It took your breath away that that much damage could happen just overnight," the landlady said.

Mrs Ryan was in the process of clearing up the damaged caused by the weather

The Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning for wind in the area at that time.

However, Mrs Ryan said it seemed to peak for a few seconds and she suspected it could have been a tornado.

"It's all concentrated in one particular area," she said.

Other nearby buildings were also damaged.

Mrs Ryan said a bungalow in the village had a lot of its roof blown off and the local primary school was also forced to close due to storm damage.

Sara Blizzard, BBC Weather

Today we have seen very strong winds across the East Midlands.

A yellow warning was in force throughout the daytime period as gusts of up to 55mph were forecast today.

The wind will ease slightly overnight and gradually start to bring very cold air in again from the north dropping the temperatures overnight.

The Met Office said it was hard to tell if it was a tornado but they were not as rare as some people might think.

"We do get around 30 in the UK each year but they are far less powerful and usually short-lived than the ones in places like the US," it said.