Rare waterspout seen over Bristol Channel

A farmer who captured a waterspout which formed over the Bristol Channel on camera said witnessing the rare weather event was "amazing".

Chris Cottrell, of Doniford Farm Park, in Watchet, Somerset, was feeding his animals on Saturday morning when he spotted the phenomenon on the horizon.

The narrow, spinning column of air is a tornado which forms over water during showery weather conditions.

At first, Cottrell thought there was a boat on fire, until he saw a "wispy" shape move across the water.

He continued: "I zoomed in to have a look and saw it was moving quite quickly.

"I carried on feeding the animals and then came out and saw a massive funnel coming down and hitting the water.

"I managed to capture it on video which was quite amazing. It was quite strange to see."

Cottrell shared footage of the waterspout on Facebook over the weekend and received hundreds of views.

"From the farm we see weather fronts moving up through the channel. I'm there [on the farm] seven days a week so I'm often looking out at the changing weather."

Back in 2020, a wave of photographers captured pictures of the waterspout phenomenon on the Bristol Channel.

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.