Met Office verdict on dramatic appearance of 'tornado' spotted over Burnley and Pendle

After examining footage of the event on Tuesday a spokesman for the Met Office said: "The footage appears to show a funnel cloud rather than a tornado.

"Funnel clouds are essentially spinning fingers of cloud that reach towards the ground but don’t touch it. If this were to reach the ground it would then be designated as a tornado.

"In the UK they often look like thin dangling bits of rope, hanging from the cloud above. But in hotspots such as tornado alley in the USA, funnel clouds can sometimes be thicker and much more intense."

Several people photographed the 'tornado' including Chantelle Quinn who was climbing Pendle Hill with her son and her friend when they spotted it.

Chantelle was quick to capture these photographs and video of the cloud.