Motorists across Lancashire woke up to a coating of dust over their cars this morning and many were confused as to why.
According to the Met Office this is due to a weather phenomenon which caused Saharan dust to rain down over the UK.
People across the county, including Darwen, Rawtenstall and beyond, have shared pictures and experiences after finding their car covered in the dust.
One person said: “I’m fuming I went and had my car washed yesterday.”
Another said: “Drove my car to work this morning and it was fine, came out at lunch and I thought the road sweepers had been driving too close to it.”
Darwen Bars and Leisure shared a picture of their car and offered some advice to prevent your car from getting scratched.
They said: “If you wake up today and your car looks like this. Don't try and rub it away with your hand or a cloth or anything contact based.
“It is Saharan sand that has landed as part of this recent heat wave and is very abrasive and will scratch the life out of your paintwork.
“Rinse off thoroughly before washing your car with any cloths or sponge.”
Preston-based car cleaning and maintenance company Supreme Auto Care gave similar advice.
They said: “Has your vehicle been affected by the Sahara dust last night?
“If so, stop. It’s extremely important that this dust is removed from your paintwork ‘touchless’.
“This means that you should remove this dust, as much as possible, before you endeavour to conduct the contact wash process.”
A Met Office spokesperson said this is not uncommon and that the dust is expected to diminish in the coming days.
They said: “Some Saharan dust was rained out in some parts of the UK over the last 12 hours, bringing a dusty look to many people’s cars when they woke up this morning.
“It’s not uncommon to get some Saharan dust near the UK, which gets drawn up into the atmosphere and carried north.
"When it rains, the water mixes with the dust to give this murky look to some people’s cars.
“The concentrations of Saharan dust is expected to diminish in the coming days as the UK transitions to a cooler air mass at the start of next week.”
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