"I was in shock - I thought the house would cave in," a resident said. Kiran Bhangal, 29, is a Sky journalist and lives on a road was damaged by the extreme winds.

       Ms Bhangal told Sky that, at around 7.15pm, strong winds picked up in the area, blowing "round and round like a tornado".

       "I looked out of our daughter's window our garden fence flew off and a tree came down," she said.

       "Rubbish and plastic bags were going round and round like a tornado. That was scary as those can pick up heavy objects.”

       Ms Bhangal described how the surrounding six or seven streets experienced serious damage from the whirlwind.

       READ MORE: Tornado in London: Barking hit by storm - are tornados in UK rare?

       The strong winds died down in a matter of minutes - but that was enough time to cause extensive damage to multiple homes in the area.

       This included damage to roofs, shattered windows and dents on vehicles.

       Emergency services were on the scene immediately and no one was injured.

       Barking and Dagenham Police said they are working with the council to ensure residents living in damaged properties will receive support.

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       While tornados are a rare occurrence in the UK, they can appear yearly.

       According to the Met Office statistics, around 30 tornados are reported in the UK every year.

       Most commonly, tornadoes can be seen during thunderstorms. A spokesperson for the Met Office says the freak weather in East London cannot be confirmed as a tornado.

       She told Sky News: "This evening emergency services in the capital responded to a 'weather-related' incident at around 7.20pm. This is believed to have been a tornado, but that cannot be confirmed at this time.

       “This evening slow-moving thunderstorms have been producing very heavy rain, lightning and hail across northeast Greater London, south Essex and the far north Kent.”