Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Ben Mitchell & Chiara Fiorillo

Tornado sweeps through British zoo damaging cars and trees but animals are left unharmed

A tornado damaged cars and trees as it swept through the car park of a zoo, but animals were left unharmed.

Heavy winds also caused damage to signage and lamp posts in the car park of Marwell Zoo near Winchester, Hampshire, just after 4pm yesterday.

A zoo spokeswoman said: "Thankfully, the wind was highly localised, and the rest of the zoo was undamaged. Both the zoo's animals and staff are also safe.

"CCTV footage caught the sudden moment extremely high winds caused damage to signage, lamp posts, trees, and cars."

She added that the main access road was also closed over safety concerns but an alternative route was available for visitors on Tuesday.

Cars and trees were damaged, the zoo said (PA)

James Cretney, chief executive at Marwell Wildlife, said: "I couldn't believe it. The car park looked like something from a Hollywood movie set, such was the force of this tornado.

"More evidence, as if we needed it, of the increased volatility and ferocity of weather due to climate change.

"Thankfully, no-one was hurt, and it didn't affect the zoo. My sincerest thanks to the emergency services, AA, and of course Marwell staff for sorting the mess out."

The tornado struck on Sunday 23 October, just after 4pm (PA)
It swept through the car park causing damage to signage, lamp posts, trees, and cars (PA)

Mark Jauncey, who was visiting the zoo when strong winds hit, told the Daily Echo : "We have annual tickets for Marwell, so we went for the afternoon.

"We were inside one of the enclosures when it suddenly got darker and darker. From nothing, the wind came out of nowhere.

The car park at Marwell Zoo was damaged by a tornado (PA)
The zoo asked visitors without bookings to stay away due to limited car parking following the tornado (PA)

"As soon as we got to the car park we said, ‘what’s happened?’. There were trees and branches everywhere. It was just devastation."

After the tornado, the zoo urged visitors without bookings to avoid visiting due to limited parking available.

Marvell Zoo said in a statement: "After sudden and extremely high winds earlier this afternoon (Sunday, October 23), we have unfortunately suffered damage to our car park and will have limited parking at the zoo tomorrow.

"Please only visit the zoo tomorrow (Monday, October 24) if you have already booked tickets."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.