RESIDENTS were left rubbing their eyes after seeing what looked like a “tornado” passing over East Sussex coast.

Dozens of people tweeted pictures and videos of the sight as it moved over Hastings, Bexhill and St Leonards yesterday (October 25).

Neil Cunningham told the BBC: “I was standing outside the shop looking at the thunder and lightning. I was looking towards a car park and could see quite a large cloud coming down. It got bigger and bigger.

"It just moved across and lasted about five or six minutes.”

It was not clear last night if the cloud was a tornado – meaning it actually hit the ground – or a funnel cloud, which is a cloud made of condensed water droplets that rotates but does not touch the ground.

The Met Office said that mini tornadoes are not uncommon.

Video by chuckie002 on YouTube.