A MINI-TORNADO zipped through St Helens on Tuesday bringing trees crashing down, blasting off roofing tiles and causing chaos and confusion for motorists and residents.

Motorist Eddy Grundy was driving along North Road, St Helens, at about 5pm when the twister tore through town leaving a trail of debris in its wake.

Still thunderstruck by what he hopes will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Eddy, of Moss Bank, said: "I was going into town to pick up my wife Val and as I neared the kiddies playground in Victoria Park, I noticed that the sky to my right had turned black.

"Then I saw branches whipping across the road and trees bending in the wind. The car started shaking violently and when I looked in my rear view mirror I could see branches hurtling across the road and cars braking to avoid the flying branches. Parts of trees were whizzing everywhere I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"When I was driving back after picking Val up we saw more debris in Washway Lane and when we got home I spoke to a friend in Billinge who said that they had had a violent hailstorm in Billinge at about the same time that I'd seen the mini-tornado. It was a frightening experience and one that you don't expect to happen at Victoria Park."

Residents from Dearham Avenue just off Washway Lane were also hit, losing slates from their homes. One man, who didn't wish to be named, said: "We were sitting in the conservatory just after 5pm when we actually saw it going past the house. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen, just this massive twisting wind with bushes and rubbish just swirling around within it.

"Fortunately, we weren't too badly hit although slates were knocked off the roof and a tree in the back was almost blown clean over." A neighbour added: "I was relaxing in the back room and this noise startled me. I rushed out and this tornado had blown all my wife's washing away and uprooted our tree." Another onlooker, who lives in Hampton Place off Washway Lane, told the Star: "I heard the wind it was really loud, and when I looked out of the window I saw debris flying past in the wind.

"Three houses in Dearham Avenue round the corner were damaged by the winds and two trees were uprooted. I've never seen anything like it before."

William Cockfield (60) of Kendal Drive, Carr Mill, watched the storm through the window and he said: "It was an amazing sight the wind seemed to be going in every direction and there was debris flying everywhere. My garden is sheltered, but I still lost half of my gladioli.

"Afterwards I went out to survey the damage nearby and it's lucky there wasn't a serious accident.

"I saw a huge part of one tree in the middle of the East Lancashire Road near to the junction with Green Leach Lane, how no-one was seriously injured in the storm which happened during peak hours on the Lancs I just don't know."

And Terry Price of Keswick Road in Dentons Green, said: "I heard a really loud bang from inside my house and when I when outside to see what was going on, my next door but one neighbour's back wall had gone over and a huge tree from his back garden had fallen onto my next door neighbour's fence.

"It has caused a complete mess in the road and it's a miracle no one was hurt.