Weather experts admit they are baffled after Darwen was hit by a second tornado in just over two months.

Residents said they saw the tornado about 9.30am on Saturday twisting through fields near their houses, although they did not witness any damage.

Mark Radnedge, of Avallon Way, said he was about to take the washing in after a heavy storm started when he noticed the tornado.

The 39-year-old printer said: "You could see the clouds spinning around it and it came down almost vertical.

"It couldn't have lasted more than five minutes before it dissipated. I have never seen anything like it."

Mark's wife, Susan, and son, Graham, 12, also claim they saw the tornado.

In June a mini-tornado hit the area, uprooting a tree behind the fire station and sending wheelie-bins flying.

Firefighters said strong wind was followed by hail.

Leading firefighter Phil Mayers said: "It was calm one minute, dark the next and then windows started rattling and things were thrown about outside."

Steve Randall, the national forecaster for the MET office, said: "Mini-tornadoes are a random occurrence but it is very unusual for two to hit the same area in such a short space of time.

"They occur quite often in the spring and summer months and are a lot more common than people think."

A spokesman from the Manchester Weather Centre, which monitors the region's weather, said: "It is quite possible that there was a tornado; there were a lot of thunderstorms in that area on Saturday morning."

Tornadoes are associated with quick changes in the weather. The weather centre said it only received about 50 reports of tornados every year as they often go unnoticed.