A STORM spotter couldn’t believe his luck when a funnel cloud appeared in a thunder cloud right by him.

During the storms on Sunday afternoon residents heard thunder, reported one solitary flash of lightning and a funnel cloud.

Steve Thornton, 33, spotted this cloud formation as it travelled over Dorset.

Funnel clouds as commonly found with thunderstorms. They are seen as thin cone or needle-like protrusions from the base of a cloud.

They are formed by water droplets and a rotating column of wind.

It comes after a small twister was spotted over Westbourne on Saturday

Mr Thornton, from Blandford, was driving when he saw the thunder clouds rolling in and pulled over his car into a layby. He said: “I'm a keen storm spotter so was very excited to see a funnel cloud so close to home.”

He added: “I saw the thunder clouds rolling in. I have a keen interest in storms. I thought I’d pull over and try to get some pictures.

“I noticed a funnel cloud coming out of the bottom of the thunder clouds and it was circling quite quickly.

“This was followed by hail. It all passed over in about ten minutes. I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Mr Thornton works as a gardener at a Christian retreat centre in Bournemouth and supports an autism charity.

He spotted the cloud over Charlton Marshall, Mr Thornton added that he had been really interested to see the cloud formation, adding: “I have been hoping to go to Kansas to do a storm chase – I wasn’t expecting to see it in Dorset.”