Hampshire 'vortex of hay' captured on camera

A man captured footage of a weather phenomenon known as a "hay devil" while in the countryside near his home.

Kevin Farndell was walking through some fields near Dummer, Hampshire, when he saw "straw quite high in the sky".

He added: "As I rounded the corner I could see this vortex of hay whizzing around."

Hay devils, sometimes referred to as dust devils, occur when the ground is hot and the rising warm air lifts up light debris.

Krista Mitchell, from the BBC Weather Centre, said: "The ground gets very hot and strong convection takes place.

"This rapidly rising air lifts dust, or straw, into the air. When conditions are right, the rising air will rotate."

Mr Farndell had a camera with him and captured the whirlwind of hay.

"I was only about 40 feet away from it so it was quite a sight," he said.

"I was beginning to get covered by the falling debris of the straw.

"It tracked diagonally and went through this gap where there was a couple of hedges and that was it. It was gone."