A “tornado” has struck a Sussex town, causing damage to homes.

Residents in the area have reported the apparent tornado ripped tiles off roofs at around 6am, as Storm Ciarán swept through Sussex.

Keith Penfold told The Argus he was woken up during the storm after an intense amount of rain slammed against his bedroom window at his home in Avon Close, Sompting.

He said: “I asked myself why the rain was hitting my window so hard - it was like I was in a car wash.

“My kids ran into my room and asked me what was going on. Like a blink, it was gone - it stopped instantly and none of us knew what happened.”

Mr Penfold ventured out in the morning and said the street had been left “badly damaged”, with damage to fences and roofs.

“My neighbour was in tears saying half of my roof has come off and the rain is coming in,” he said.

“I looked across the street and the tiles of four hours along the street had been taken off.

“It looks like something has gone through one end and gone out the other area. The damage was so local to where the wind had been.”

Follow the latest updates from Storm Ciarán

The Argus:

Mr Penfold and some of his neighbours are convinced that the damage was caused by a tornado.

It comes less than a week after a tornado hit Littlehampton as Sussex was hit by torrential rain and strong winds over the weekend.

According to tornado experts, the Littlehampton tornado caused a trail of destruction across roughly two miles, with wind speeds of up to 136mph.

Another tornado also struck the town in September, injuring one person and causing roof tiles to be thrown from homes.

A tornado alert had been in place overnight for southern England by the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (Torro).

Professional meteorologist Paul Knightley said that Torro had received a report of a possible tornado in Lancing during Storm Ciarán, along with a definite tornado in Jersey and a probable tornado in Bridport.

Gusts of up to 62mph were reported this morning as the storm caused disruption across the county.