Updated: VILLAGERS were today clearing up after a thunderstorm damaged property and brought down trees and power cables in Dunnington, near York.
For half an hour, hailstones and torrential rain poured down in York and the surrounding villages.
Lightning struck trees and the electricity supply was cut off in 44 homes and businesses in Common Road and Chessington Park, in Dunnington.
Part of a tree crashed through the roof of a summerhouse at Dunnington House, near the village green, home of Judith and John Sanderson.
Janet Greenwood, a former Lord Mayor of York, said: “It was horrendous, the worst I have ever seen in the 40 years I have lived here.
“It was rather like a mini-tornado. I don’t think anyone has been injured or hurt. “We could have had someone standing under the trees while it was raining.”
The storm struck as villagers were completing their final preparations for receiving the judges in the Britain In Bloom competition, who will arrive today. Dunnington is in the final for the third time and was hoping to top previous silver medal successes by winning the small town section.
But as soon as the rain stopped villagers saw months of work ruined. Hanging baskets had been knocked down in the storm and trees on the village green struck by lightning. Fallen trees were blocking Common Road and roads and gardens flooded.
Roy Freer, chairman of Dunnington In Bloom, said at noon the village was looking perfect, but by 5pm it was a different picture.
He said: “It was devastating. But it’s one of those things. We can’t stop the judges.”
Volunteers were out clearing up as soon as the rain cleared and were back at work today as early as they could to try and restore the picture perfect village they had prepared before the storm hit.
The storm started the day in the Leeds area and tracked across North Yorkshire, hitting York mid-afternoon before moving towards the coast.
Early estimates put its rainfall at 5mm to 10mm.
Blooming fun with weather
NOT much happens in Dunnington, that is its charm. But once a year the sleepy village comes alive with frenetic industry. Secateurs at the ready there’s pruning to do, deadheading to consider and an endless round of filling up the watering cans.
All to impress the flower judges.
Tomorrow was meant to be the village’s big day with Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) adjudicators touring its manicured lanes as part of the Britain in Bloom competition.
Until the British weather put a dampener on things. Yesterday afternoon, rain of monsoon proportions bucketed down and threatened to destroy the fruits of a year’s hard labour.
The judges are still coming and we feel sure they will have seen this sort of thing before, so we hope they will lend a sympathetic ear as the gardeners explain what has happened to their prize displays.
Dunnington has a strong reputation, having won the Britain in Bloom small town competition five times. It has also been selected to enter the small town category of Britain in Bloom this year. So the villagers’ ability to do extraordinary things with their gardens is beyond doubt. One thing they can’t do, though, is control the English weather.
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