'Tornado' spotted above Eastbourne

It was spotted at about 7.45pm and could only be seen for a few minutes.

According to BBC Weather, for the clouds to be classed as tornados, the base of the funnel would need to touch the ground, but it is not clear from images whether it did.

Matt Zalman, who filmed the scene over Beachy Head, said he thought it was a tornado, rather than a 'waterspout'.

The Met Office says funnel clouds are defined as waterspouts if they make contact with a body of water, but become a tornado if they reach land.

Emma and Marc Henson said they were walking their dog along Eastbourne seafront at 7.45pm when they spotted the clouds off the coast of Eastbourne. They also believed it was a tornado.

The spiralling cloud was visible for just a few minutes, onlookers said.

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