Tornado alert issued as Storm Henk swoops across Britain just days after whirlwind ripped through houses

In a statement, TORRO said: "The tornado risk, although low, may take on a bi-modal distribution - with one area of slightly higher risk being in the discussion area across the RoI on Saturday morning, and the second being across parts of Cent S England, SE England, the SE Midlands, and E Anglia on Saturday night.

"This latter area will be monitored on Saturday for a possible tornado watch."

It comes after a tornado hit Greater Manchester on Thursday which caused serious damage across the country.

There were high speed winds across the UK, with the Met Office having issued nine yellow weather warnings for throughout the day for the rapid gusts along with heavy snow and rain.

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police confirmed that it was a tornado that had ripped roofs off houses and devastated the local community.

A spokesperson said: "Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were called to numerous reports of significant damage to various properties across Stalybridge in Tameside.

"It is believed the damage caused was due to a localised tornado.

"GMP declared this as a major incident due to the severity of the damage caused and potential risk to public safety."

Britons are bracing for brutal winds and "significant snow" as forecasters warn that the "Troll from Trondheim" is set to wreak havoc across the UK.

Warnings for rain, snow, ice and wind remain in force today and tomorrow with weather maps suggesting a "cold and severe" to the new year.

The Met Office: "Essentially there is a chance of very isolated tornadoes today on band of heavy rain moving east across many parts of Wales and England, the risk is somewhat higher the further south you are.

"The vast majority of places will only see some briefly intense heavy rain and a short period of very gusty winds, but we can’t rule out a few tornadoes as well."