VIDEO: Lucky escape for family as mini-tornado hits Mobberley

Mobberley suffered a trail of damage to roofs, trees and power lines when it was hit by a short-lived but ferocious storm at about 5.30pm.

The family were sitting under a large marquee at The Railway Inn pub when the freak winds struck.

The marquee was blown over as they ran inside the pub, and fortunately no-one was injured.

A power line was brought down in Station Road

Numerous slates were lifted off the pub roof, a trampoline was lifted into the air and blown into a farmer’s field, and a toy train in the pub garden, which had taken six men to lift into position, was blown over.

A line of beech trees across the road were snapped off by the force of the wind, and the pub lost electricity when a power line was damaged by a falling tree in Station Road near the bridge over Mobberley Brook.

Pub manageress Laura Leighton said: “I was in the kitchen at the time, and you could hear the wind howling – it was so scary.

“There was a massive flash when a tree brought down the electricity line, and we lost power from 5.25pm on Friday until 5am on Saturday.

“I have never seen anything like that. The strength of the wind was unbelievable.

A tree across from the pub was blown over

“The wind only lasted for five minutes, and it was eerily calm afterwards.”

Laura’s husband Rick, who is a tree surgeon, cleared Station Road of fallen trees, and Laura thanked everyone for rallying round to help clear the roads.

She said: “A big thank you to the Jones’ Waugh Brow Farm, who were a big help clearing the roads, and to all our other wonderful neighbours.

“We are so lucky to live to live within a wonderful community, and at times like this it’s amazing to see everyone helping each other.”

Mobberley resident Sally Kendall said: “About half past five on Friday evening a tornado cut a path through part of Mobberley.

“The path itself wasn’t very wide, but it was really intense for almost a minute, with windows vibrating, plants swirling and large trees bending.

“I don’t know where it came from or where it disappeared to, but there was a great deal of destruction in its wake, on Broadoak, Smith Lane, Station Road and Small Lane.

“Many trees were cut in half or completely down, roof slates taken, sheds demolished, power cables were cut and a heavy duty commercial marquee was lifted from its awnings and carried into the top of a tree.

“I have never seen anything like it before, and it’s not something you expect to experience in Mobberley.

“However, it was so lovely afterwards to see the community pulling together as friends and neighbours came out in force with chainsaws, lots of manpower and machinery to clear the roads and let the energy people get to the snapped cables.

"Gardens were cleared, and even the marquee got replaced in time for its party."

A Scottish Power spokesman said about 140 customers lost power in the WA16 area from 5.21pm on Friday after a tree fell onto the overhead power network.

The energy company received about 40 calls from residents about the power outage, added the spokesman, and most of the customers affected had their supplies restored by 7pm, with the remaining supplies restored between 7pm and 4am on Saturday.

The spokesman apologised for any inconvenience caused by the loss of supplies.

Rail services were also affected after trees blocked the line between Mobberley and Stockport.

Police put a number of road closures in place through Mobberley and Ashley due to trees and power lines being down.