Tornado mayhem

10:20am Thursday 31st July 2008

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Trees were uprooted in Chippenham on Tuesday as a mini tornado hit the Monkton Park area of the town.

Student Brad Buechel had the luckiest escape after an 18ft tree crashed on his car as he drove home along Eastern Avenue.

The 22-year-old escaped with just shock and bruises as the tree flattened the back of his silver Ford Focus just after 5pm.

He said:"I was just in shock for hours after the accident and the whole thing only started to sink in later on when I realised how close I had come to the tree."

Mr Buechel had been driving home along Sadlers Mead in the heavy wind and rain when he turned on to the avenue and had to slow down when the rain blinded his vision.

He said: "The next thing I knew the car was slowing down and I was being shaken all over the place.

While most of Chippenham and the rest of Wiltshire escaped with heavy rain and wind Monkton Park families watched in horror as mature trees were uprooted in the mini hurricane.

Chris Stone, 75, of Eastern Avenue said: "I have never seen anything like it. The rain and leaves started spinning really fast and rose up over a house across the road making a mini hurricane. It was terrifying."

The heavy rain accompanied by strong winds started after 4pm bringing traffic to a standstill. Pedestrians had to detour around broken branches scattered in their path.

A 60ft tree was blown over in Monkton Park as well as several large trees at Monkton Park Golf Club.

Another tree more than 50ft high at Seymour House, Monkton Park was smashed to pieces leaving branches hanging from the tree.

Flooding also occurred in the car park of the residential home on Sadlers Mead. Huge branches came crashing down destroying part of the fence and nursing home sign.

Sonia Blackwood, care leader at the residential home said: "It was very scary, I have never seen weather like it. We couldn't hear the tree crashing down because of the wind but the damage was terrible.'' North Wiltshire District Council has cleared up trees on its land in Monkton Park and will clear away the huge tree that has fallen in the park.

Patrick Rule, senior meteorlogical officer at RAF Lyneham, said: " I would expect what people have seen is a tornado and it is not uncommon for people to see one during a thunder storm.

"It is also quite common for these incidents to be centralised to one area.

"I have even seen one half of a town dry before while the other suffers torrential rain."

The cleansing and amenities team at North Wiltshire District Council are clearing up debris in Monkton Park and checking trees for any damage after Monday's storm.

Chippenham Town Council also carries out a similar check with their tree management plan.

Ray Lane, head of service delivery said: "After any storms or particularly bad weather we check John Coles park for tree damage and debris to make sure it is safe.

"We closed the park off temporarily on Tuesday morning to check for any loose branches or damaged trees."

Wiltshire County Council's Clarence maintenance team, which attends incidents across the county, were called to Lickhill Road in Calne on Monday evening after drains were blocked leaving minor flooding.