Moment mini-TORNADO rips through athletics meeting throwing tables, chairs and even officials into the air

By PATRICK HARRINGTON, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:55, 5 August 2026 | Updated: 12:55, 5 August 2026 This is the moment a mini tornado ripped through an athletics competition in Kent, throwing chairs, tables and even officials into the air. Hundreds of children were competing at the Central Park Athletics Club in Dartford on Saturday when the vortex appeared without warning right on the track - and left one elderly volunteer in hospital with a chest injury. On what was otherwise a calm, sunny morning, a cloud of dust suddenly began swirling near the finish line of the track, tearing the red tent and piles of paper into the air. Footage filmed by an onlooker shows a woman on the phone with her back to the scene turning and throwing her hands to her head as she watches debris get sucked into the twister. The spiraling winds become ferocious, sucking up thick clouds of dirt and hundreds of objects, before hurtling towards the onlookers. The woman screams and covers her eyes as she finds herself at the centre of the whirlwind. Officials said the freak weather event appeared completely without warning just before 10am on Saturday morning, when hundreds of young athletes from clubs across the South East had descended on the track for a competition. It damaged electronic timing equipment worth thousands of pounds and covered the track with debris. A red tent at the finish line of the Central Park Athletics Club in Dartford was ripped into the air by a mini tornado A woman turned to see a large cloud of dust and hundreds of objects being sucked into the whirlwind Tony Durey, chairman of Central Park Athletics in Dartford, said he had never witnessed anything like it in more than 35 years in the sport. He said: 'It was a day much like today. It was sunny, very warm and there was no wind, maybe just a slight breeze. 'Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, this tornado came from the car park right down the middle of the track.' Mr Durey said the whirlwind looked exactly like those seen on television, with dust and debris spiralling into the air as it travelled across the athletics stadium. 'It picked up all the dirt and debris and spiralled into that typical tornado shape. You could actually see it travelling along the running track,' he said. 'Thankfully there were no juniors running there at the time because the race had only just started. 'I'm pretty sure if there had been a young child on the track, it probably would have picked them up and thrown them into the air.' The whirlwind ripped through the electronic timing area, throwing tables, chairs and specialist equipment around 50ft into the air. The twister engulfed the woman until she was almost entirely obscured from view Debris was whipped around the track at high speed, and thousands of pounds worth of electrical equipment was damaged 'It literally picked up all the tables and chairs and threw them about 50 feet into the air,' Mr Durey said. Several officials, many of them elderly volunteers, were caught in the whirlwind. 'There were about five officials sitting there,' Mr Durey said. 'It lifted them off their chairs and literally threw them into the air. A couple of them landed on top of each other.' One official was taken to hospital after suffering a chest injury, but has since returned home and is recovering well. The vortex lasted around 90 seconds before disappearing as quickly as it had formed. Mr Durey said: 'It all happened before our eyes and then it was gone. It was a complete freak. Right in the middle of summer, it was really strange.' Among the witnesses was Terry Skelton, chairman and coach of HY Athletics Club in Hastings, who had travelled to Dartford with young competitors. He also noticed the whirlwind began as a small swirl near the start and finish line before rapidly growing in size. 'It really started off really small right on the start and finish line, and then got bigger and bigger,' he said. 'The tent went, then it lifted people up and threw them back down.' Mr Skelton said one woman was lifted before falling backwards into an 85-year-old timekeeper, who hit his head and later went to hospital advised by the present paramedic. The dry conditions created a huge cloud of dust as the whirlwind crossed the track. 'All the grass was brown and the dust was just horrendous,' he said.  'You couldn't see a thing. It was scary, especially for the young kids.' It comes after another mini tornado tore across a farm shop car park in Lincolnshire last month. Dramatic footage was captured at The Vine Farm Shop & Cafe in Spalding on July 10, with the rare weather phenomenon revolving around cars.  The business said it was 'not something you see every day' and their customers were quick to make comparisons with Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz.