Widnes: Possible tornado damages houses and vehicles

                           

A possible tornado has hit a town, with strong winds damaging houses and vehicles.

Police received reports of walls being brought down and car windows being smashed by freak weather in Widnes, Cheshire, at about 12:25 BST.

Resident Claire Earnshaw said she walked back from the shop and "came back to devastation" like a "warzone".

Cheshire Police said road closures were in place and added it had not received any reports of injuries.

Ms Earnshaw described seeing a wall knocked over and said she initially thought "a lorry had taken it out".

She told BBC Radio Merseyside: "Walls are down, there are big holes in people's roofs, windows smashed and garage doors have been blown in.

"It was really scary... I keep thinking how lucky we are."

Another resident, Micky Kelly, described seeing "thick black clouds" and then he heard a "boom".

Halton MP Derek Twigg described the scene as "shocking" and spoke of his relief that nobody was injured.

He added: "It was good to see people pulling together to clean up the damage and I hope the damage is rectified soon."

Some Twitter users in Widnes said the weather had been "shocking" and others described it as "a bit wild out".

Police said Camberwell Road, at the junction of Moorfield, was closed.