'Mini tornado' flips caravan onto its side at Bamptons Farm in Lymington

A couple in Lymington were lucky not to be in their caravan when strong winds flipped it onto its side at a Lymington campsite last night (Thursday).

David (56) and Amanda Barkley (50) were staying at Bamptons Farm with their nine-year-old son Tyler when the extreme weather – which they described as a "mini tornado" – struck.

Minutes earlier, David had filmed unusual storm clouds over the Wightlink terminal as they returned from a day trip to the Isle of Wight .

Speaking to the A&T afterwards, he said this filming, plus a delayed ferry, saved them from potential injury.

“The ferry was 10 minutes late, luckily, otherwise we would have been back in the field, in the caravan having a cup of coffee when it happened,” he said.

“We didn’t see a funnel, but we saw the clouds lifting up and, as we were filming, we could see the clouds start to rotate.

“We got back to find our caravan lying on its side and people looking to see if we were inside.

“We’re just devastated, really. You wouldn’t believe it. You just go into shock when you think what’s happened here.”

The family, from Ashbourne in Derbyshire, had owned the six-berth Swift Quattro for three years, regularly enjoying trips as a far away as Scotland.

This was their second visit to Lymington in as many years. Having arrived last Friday, they were due to have stayed until tomorrow (Saturday).

Although the caravan was still to be assessed by the insurance company, David believed it was a write-off due to its damage and the fact water had got inside.

“It’s about a two-tonne caravan, so that’s a lot of weight to chuck up and tip on its side,” he continued.

“It could have been anyone’s caravan in a whole field of vans and it just hit ours.”

David praised the farmer at the touring site for helping out and allowing them to stay in a static caravan last night.

The couple had been told to break into the vehicke to recover their belongings as the wet ground prevented its immediate recovery.

They were hoping to return home today, while the farmer was set to right the caravan so it can be taken away for assessment.

David added: “When we saw the storm clouds last night it made you feel something was going to happen. We were just very, very unlucky.”