Hundreds of people were left homeless today after a tornado ripped through residential streets in north London. Dave Bonner, of London Fire Brigade, said about 100 homes had been damaged in "freak weather", injuring six people in Kensal Rise.Chamberlayne Road, one of the worst-affected areas, was cordoned off for safety checks after roofs were ripped off houses, trees were uprooted, walls collapsed and debris rained on parked cars. One man was taken to hospital with a head injury and five people were treated at the scene for minor injuries and shock.
Eyewitnesses told how the sky went dark and spoke of a terrifying column of debris sweeping through the area. They said the noise was like a jet airliner.
Video footage from a helicopter showed part of the side of a house had collapsed, partially covering a car parked outside. The footage on Sky News also pictured several houses which had lost roof tiles, including one where almost the entire roof had been peeled away.