Those who witnessed the tornado expressed their fears as objects were flying around during the tornado which occurred around 10.30pm.

Stornoway police confirmed that what appeared to be a mini tornado had occurred through Stornoway, causing damage to several vehicles when hit by flying debris.

"A camper can was lifted off the ground and thrown into another vehicle," said a police spokesman today (Wednesday).

"Power and telephone lines were affected but are now being restored. Trees were uprooted and minor structural damage was caused to property," he said.

The police said that, despite the damage, there had been no reports of any person sustaining injuries.

Michelle Robson of Francis Street, who witnessed the tornado, said: "I didn't know what it was, but it was quite frightening as things were flying around all over the place. It only lasted a few seconds and then it was gone and it went quite calm after that," she said.

Ian Minty of James Street said that the incident was quite frightening. "It was over very, very quickly, around 10 to 15 seconds. I had never seen anything like that before in Stornoway. "We survived the big gale a few years ago, but it was nothing like the one this week," he added.

Full report in this week's Stornoway Gazette, out tomorrow (Thursday).