Our home has been torn apart

TRAUMA OF FAMILIES IN EYE OF FREAK STORM

-  MAISIE LAWTON

A FAMILY were thrust into a terrifying ordeal as a tornado thought to have been the strongest in the UK for almost 20 years tore through their home.

In the hour just before midnight on December 27, two houses in Stalybridge bore the full force of the extreme weather.

Both properties on Hough Hill Road were severely damaged, with roofs torn off by winds reaching a staggering 160mph.

Gareth and Lyndsey Moody and their children were in their home as the storm struck.

Their sons, Jack, 22, and Thomas, 15, narrowly escaped disaster as the tornado tore through the house.

Recounting the horror, Gareth, 45, a council licensing officer, said: "There was a loud crash, the lights went out and another huge bang. There was a huge hole in the ceiling. 

"Fortunately the latest tornado warning avoided us because if this happened again I'd be on the edge of a cliff - we wouldn't be able to cope with that. It was like a death to us in this incident - our home has been torn apart.