Surrey tornado – ‘Screaming’ family feared for their lives as freak storm wrecked homes, toppled trees and dam – The Sun, Thesun.co.uk
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A SCREAMING family feared for their lives as a freak tornado smashed into homes in Surrey today.
Stunned mum Pip Rickerby, 75, revealed the moment the terrifying twister barrelled into her suburban street, ripping fences up and launching a trampoline into the sky.
Garden fences were ripped up in the terrifying tornado in Surrey todayCredit: BPM Media********************
The tornado causes carnage to homes and roads in SurreyCredit: BPM Media
Pip Rickerby with husband Iain and their daughters, aged seven and nineCredit: Pip Rickerby
The mum- of-two told how her daughters, aged seven and nine, were left screaming in terror when the storm hit.
Pip told Sun Online: “It was absolutely mental. I actually feared for my life.
“I thought it was going to take my house like in the Wizard of Oz.
“It was really heavy rain and we were about to take our dog Toto out.
I thought it was going to take my house like in the Wizard of Oz
Terrified mum-of-two Pip Rickerby, 39
“It was really frightening, like nothing I’ve ever seen in my life – like we weren’t in the UK.”
Shocking snaps revealed the damage to homes with trees and objects strewn across streets.
Fire chiefs confirmed at least homes and ten cars were damaged in the weather terror.
Pip added: “My girls were screaming. If they were outside it would definitely have taken them away.
“It was fierce. At one point I thought it was going to take the house.
“It was literally taking everything in its path.
“It lasted for about 35 seconds but it was just crazy, terrifying. “
*** Shocking footage shows the moment the tornado ripped an entire garden apart
************ (Fire crews descended on streets affected across SurreyCredit: BPM Media
The tornado tore down fences and caused tiles to fly off roofs
A trampoline hurtled through the air and landed in a garden during the tornado
Another neighbor said the windy blast was “like a plane taking off” as it ripped through Chertsey and Shepperton.
Tracy Bramley, who was sitting in her car when the tornado struck, told Surrey Live: “We’ve got a hole in our roof.
“It lasted less than a minute, it just started to gradually build.
“I was sat in my car at the time, it all changed really quickly, it started to whip up, I could feel my car beginning to rock a bit, it just came a bit out of nowhere really.”
It came asfloods sparked travel chaosacross England with closed roads and blocked railway lines after rivers burst their banks.
Stranded drivers and residents were pictured wadingthrough waist-deep water in Kent, Surrey, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
The AA advised million drivers face bumper-to-bumper traffic as they hit the road today and tomorrow.
On Saturday there were some (flood
warningsand 300 flood alerts in place in England alone.
The Met Officehas issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain, with up to mm of rain is forecast in parts until noon tomorrow.
In a fresh weather blow for Brits, the Met Office has warned two weeks of rain is set to be dumped in the next hours.
Abandoned vehicles lie half submerged in a car park next to the The River Arun in Pulborough, West Sussex)Credit: London News Pictures
************************St Ives in Cambs. Is surrounded by rising flood water on Saturday morning after the River Great Ouse bursts it banks after the recent heavy rainfallCredit: GEOFF ROBINSON.
Residents of the lodge and caravan community in Yalding, Kent, were forced to use waders and boats to get on and off the site after the river Medway bursts its banksCredit: London News Pictures
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************* UK weather: The River Arun has burst its banks and flooded local businesses in Pulborough, West SussexCredit: London News Pictures
A statement from the Met Office said: “There have been reports of a tornado in Chertsey, Surrey this morning.
“The radar image on the left shows the heavy shower that would have caused it.
“The Doppler image on the right shows relative motion of rain droplets; the circled area highlights the rapid circulation.”
Tim Readings, assistant group commander and incident commander at Surrey Fire and Rescue, said: “We got called here at about (**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************. am to a report of a tornado.
****************************************** FIGHTING BACK *************************************************** ()Vigilante Brit families forced to patrol Costa Blanca streets after attacks
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“There are in excess of (houses with damaged roofs and
private cars that have been damaged by falling tiles. There are fences and trees down.
“We are using two aerial appliances, one from Leatherhead and one from Guildford, and firefighters from various stations to make it safe and remove any dangerous tiles and support residents, because obviously this has happened right before Christmas so we are doing everything we can. “
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