The clean-up process as began after a “mini tornado” hit an estate in Widnes yesterday afternoon.
Residents took to social media to complain of damaged buildings and uprooted trees in the area as extremely high winds battered the Cheshire town after midday on Wednesday.
Both CCTV footage from a house camera on the new build estate off Moorfield Road and residents’ phone camera video posted to social media showed the aftermath of the havoc caused by the storm, with contents of gardens – including fence panels, a trampoline, and childrens’ play sets – seen strewn across the street.
The mini tornado also caused brickwork to collapse and windows to smash due to the strong winds, while tiles were ripped from roofs, trees were torn down, and several cars were dented by flying debris.
Another video showed toppled bins flying down with contents were thrown out.
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Resident Claire Earnshaw said she walked back from the shop and “came back to devastation” like a “warzone”.
Another resident John Hatton – who lives on Greenwich Avenue, where the tornado passed through – described the ordeal as “madness”, telling CheshireLive that th extreme winds came out of nowhere and shook his house for around 30 seconds, causing damage to his home and car.
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He explained: “I was in the back kitchen preparing my lunch and it just seemed to get windy really quickly, and then everything was blowing in air, there was fence panels blowing round, noises, the house seemed to shake for 20-30 seconds and then calm all of a sudden.”
But after the trail of destruction was left, a clean up has now begun and some road closures were put in place as a result.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Police issued a statement after the incident occurred yesterday, explaining that: “At 12.25pm on Wednesday 20 October, police received reports of damage in the Widnes area [and] the damage includes a wall falling down, windows of cars smashed and debris on Camberwell Park Road.
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“A number of road closures are in place, including Camberwell Park Road at the junction of Moorfield Road.
“Damage has also occurred to the garage of a property on Kensington Close.”
The force said there had been no reports of any injuries.
The Met Office also acknowledged that the tornado took place, but added on Twitter that despite how shocking the initial news of it may seem, “they’re not uncommon in the UK”.
There have been reports of a #tornado in the Widnes area this lunchtime
A spokesperson went onto explain that there had been several reports of funnel clouds and tornadoes across the UK over the past few weeks, and the narrow, spinning columns of air are formed when the weather is “unstable” and showery.
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The Met Office claims that the UK gets more tornadoes per square kilometre than the US, but not more tornadoes in total.
Claire’s is closing down stores in the UK and Ireland with more than 1,300 jobs set to be lost
Danny Jones
In another hit to domestic shoppers, Claire’s Accessories is closing down en masse across the UK and Ireland after entering into administration once again.
Falling into an unfortunate financial status for the second time in less than a year, Claire’s will be shutting down all of their standalone stores across Britain, along with their IE branches.
A total of 154 stores will soon disappear, with more than a thousand people set to be put out of work.
Once a mainstay of British high streets up and down the country, the accessory shop known for all things jewellery, piercings and more has ceased trading effective immediately.
Announced at the start of the week and the end of the first full month of Q2, it was confirmed that Claire’s closed their final locations on Monday, 27 April.
With administrators, Kroll, appointed to wrap up business proceedings, an estimated 1,300 English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh workers have now lost their jobs.
Founded way back in 1961 over in the United States, Claire’s has operated across the Atlantic for more than three decades.
However, with various other contemporaries and cheaper online options having appeared over the years, they’ve struggled not just to remain profitable but to compete full stop.
They most recently filed for bankruptcy in the US this past August (2025), with their Belgian, Spanish, and Dutch divisions having already called it quits.
Manchester location(s) have changed a lot over time, but now they’re on the way out (Credit: Arndale)
For many, the outcome isn’t all that surprising, but it will nevertheless be a sad loss for many who have seen multiple generations visit these venues over the years.
Manchester Storm announce return to AO Arena after nearly two and a half decades
Danny Jones
In a huge bit of regional sporting news, Manchester Storm have announced they will be coming home to the AO Arena after nearly two and a half decades away from the iconic venue.
Massive news for Manc ice hockey followers and local sports fans in general.
Revealing the long-awaited return after 24 long years away from the place where Manchester’s native hockey team first began its story, the team, AO figures, and even some fans were part of a special announcement event inside the 20,000-seater stadium this week.
Confirming the news on Monday, 27 April, MCR Storm will be back playing at the AO Arena later this year – just in time for the start of the 2026/27 campaign.
— Manchester Storm | #TakeShelter (@Mcr_Storm) April 27, 2026
As detailed in a full press release from the Greater Manchester club, they are seemingly marking a milestone moment in their next chapter by going back to their roots.
It goes on to read: “Founded back in 1995 as a tenant of the then newly-opened Manchester Arena, the original Manchester Storm quickly became one of British ice hockey’s most iconic teams.
“In their inaugural season, the Storm secured the First Division championship before becoming founding members of the Ice Hockey Superleague in 1996.”
Coming somewhat full circle more than a generation later (Storm having made it to the play-off finals of the modern Elite Ice Hockey League era this April for the first time in their history), they have made one-off returns to the storied space in recent times.
However, many supporters have been waiting for a fully fledged return for some time now; equally, others are understandably sad to pay a bittersweet goodbye to the ‘Storm Shelter’ over in Altrincham, with the building having already pulled licensing for next year.
They have been at the Planet Ice rink for over a decade now, and the company itself have even issued a lengthy response following the departure – namely noting the issue of communication, clarity and fair notice. Nevertheless, for the vast majority, this felt like a long-overdue comeback.
With an ex-player turned head coach and all-round club legend, Cam Critchlow, having also signed on for another campaign behind the bench, it’s been a busy week in and around the organisation.
Representing the Manchester Storm ownership group, former coach Ryan Finnerty and partner Emma said in a joint statement: “This is a major milestone for our partnership group and a vision we’ve worked towards for some time.
Returning Manchester Storm to the AO Arena is a proud moment for everyone involved. It’s about giving our fans a premier stage in the heart of the city and delivering an outstanding live experience.
“Together with our leadership team and Canadian partners, our ambition is clear — not just to compete, but to lead in the Elite Ice Hockey League and beyond. This marks the start of an exciting new era for the club. Manchester Storm is coming home.
“Today marks a hugely exciting and significant moment for both the Manchester Storm and the Elite League”. The EIHL themselves have also celebrated the news, adding that they feel it reflects “the scale and ambition of the league”.
Are you happy to see them setting up shop at the AO Arena once again? Better still, do you remember going there to watch games the first time around? Let us know down in the comments.
The Manc -
21st October 2021 
