All eyes were turned skyward as a very unusual weather phenomenon swept across the Great Wakering, on the outskirts of Southend.

Astonished residents watched as a mini tornado began to form on Tuesday near Great Wakering - it was captured on camera by TV worker Myles Anderson as he drove his two-year-old daughter to playgroup class.

The 33-year-old, from Daines Way in Shoebury, said: "I first noticed some strange clouds from my kitchen window at about 11.15am.

"Then something started to form out of them which looked like a small twister. My wife didn't believe me until she saw it."

Mr Anderson drove his daughter, Harriett, to school 30 minutes later, by which time the twister was getting larger and began to rapidly swirl around.

He said: "I just couldn't believe my eyes. It never touched the ground but it certainly got rather big. It never got me worried but it was a spectacular sight. I've never seen anything like it before and don't expect I will again. It was like something out of an American film."

He stopped the car along Shoebury Road and took more pictures across the open fields before dropping off his daughter at the Lansdowne Kindergarten in Poynters Lane, Great Wakering.

Meanwhile, forecaster Sean Clarke from the UK's central meteorological office in Bracknell, Berkshire, watched the unusual cloud activity unfold on his radar screen.

He said: "There was a lot of activity near Southend yesterday morning which ties in with the twister sightings.

"What formed was basically a small tornado, sometimes known as a twister. It's not unusual for them to be seen in this country, although they are often very small."

A tornado begins to form when cold air leaves a cloud at the same time as warm air enters, causing the water particles to rotate.

The clouds involved in the twister at Great Wakering were cumulo nimbus, added Mr Clarke, which also generate hail, thunder and lightning.

He said: "Most people don't realise that we actually get more tornadoes in each area of the sky than the USA - although the ones over here are much less powerful."

The tornado lasted for almost 45 minutes but died away without causing any damage to property in the area.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.