FREAK storms battered Macclesfield, felling trees and electricity poles, and causing major headaches for emergency workers, as main commuter routes remained blocked for hours.

Four people were injured in Thursday's devastation - one seriously - after a tornado ripped properties apart and made driving perilous.

A giant 14-wheel, 40-ton articulated wagon was blown on its side near Rainow around 2.30pm. It crashed into a wall near The Highwayman pub but, miraculously, the driver was unhurt.

Three other motorists cheated death when their cars were crushed by falling trees. But a 36-year-old man was seriously hurt after being struck by a pane of glass that shot out of a frame at the Spiveys Web fancy dress shop on Chestergate. He was treated for a broken rib and a gashed head

The storms - so serious that the county had to rally under its first ever major incident alert - lashed the borough last Thursday afternoon, peaking between 2-3pm.

  • Four cars and an articulated lorry were seriously damaged and firefighters had to make dislodged chimneypots safe.
  • A fallen tree crushed fences and a car on Tytherington Park Road, and a man needed treatment.
  • In Siddington on the A34, a 74-year-old woman escaped when a tree fell on her car.
  • A 30-year-old willow tree wrote-off a new Jaguar S-Type parked in Rainow.
  • In Langley, 30 households were without electricity from Thursday afternoon until Saturday lunchtime. And Flash was without power for over five hours.

Sutton Councillor Hilda Gaddum said: "I can't speak highly enough of the repair engineers. But I don't know why United Utilities didn't give out any customer information."

In Poynton, Sue Smith looked on in horror as a tree, the first of three, crashed down on London Road South. She said: "It was about 60ft high, and it just missed me and my husband."

At Macclesfield's Upton Priory estate, a tree was hurled between two housing blocks. One resident said: "It could have been disastrous."

Borough head of leisure service Bill North said: "The biggest problem is fallen trees - we've been inundated."

A 'massive' garden beech tree blocked Macclesfield Crematorium, while the Rev Janet Fife conducted a funeral.

The vicar said later: "The crematorium had already lost a dome, there was debris everywhere, the lights failed and a large tree came down near the gate. Yet the staff continued their service."

At Chelford Agricultural Centre, auctioneer Jonathan Farrall completed the sale of 130 beef cattle, despite a power cut. "We sold the final 40 cattle unweighed - the weigh bridge was out - and with me shouting, full of cold, over the noise."

The clean-up continued over the weekend. But cold weather and the threat of snow means council staff remain on alert.