Cotswold resident says tornado sounded like 'WW2 bomber'

People in Condicote are still picking up the pieces after the tornado

Neighbours in a small village are continuing to tidy up the wreckage after a tornado ripped through their street 10 days ago.

The small Cotswold village of Condicote, near Stow-on-the-Wold, was hit by a tornado on 28 October.

It uprooted trees and damaged sheds and roof tiles, with some debris ending up half a mile away on the other side of a farmer's field.

Resident Ann Lee described it as "like a Second World War bomber coming over".

Ann Lee's shed was destroyed by the storm

She added that it was an experience she never wants to go through again.

"I was sitting in the lounge watching Strictly Come Dancing. The rain was suddenly very, very loud," said Ms Lee.

"It seemed to be forever but I think it was only a couple of minutes.

"Then the lights flashed, everything went out and then there was absolute silence. Eerie silence."

The storm destroyed Ms Lee's summer house and hurled it across a neighbouring field

Her summerhouse is now on the other side of the fence in the farmer's field.

She said her insurance company initially ruled out storm damage, but have now agreed to compensate her.

According to Ms Lee, they were unsure at first whether it was actually a tornado because the weather report showed that the winds were travelling at 37mph (59km).

She said: "The people from the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (Torro) said if it's a tornado it's in a straight line, and 10 miles either side of that it could be 37mph, but in the eye of the tornado, it wasn't."

Roy Mercer is certain the tornado hit at 19:10 BST because his clocked stop working at that time

Roy Mercer was heading to the pub with a friend when he received a phone call from a neighbour telling him to rush home because there was a tornado.

"At first I thought he was winding me up. I came home and I was in deep shock," he said.

No-one saw the storm as it was so dark, but Mr Mercer said he is certain it occurred at 19:10 BST.

"The reason why I am exact with the time is because I had an outside clock on the wall and it fell and hit the ground and that's when the clock stopped," he said.

The storm caused damage to one resident's roof

There have been reports that a rabbit hutch was lifted up in the tornado, with the rabbit inside, Mr Mercer added.

"The house to my right, they've got a grandson whose got a little black bunny," he said.

"He was in his hutch and unfortunately the tornado lifted the hutch up.

"On the Saturday night, we had a lot of electric people who wanted to get the electric back on and they were all out in the fields with search lights.

"And they accidentally came across this hutch which was in bits and then a couple of yards away was the rabbit, alive."