A couple were left stunned after capturing the rare moment a dust devil touched down and span through the grounds of a British country home.

Julie Hayes, 38, and her fiancé Ben Lee, 38, had visited Grade I-listed Hanbury Hall in Worcestershire for a day trip on Sunday afternoon (8/9).

But as they made their way back to the car park of the National Trust property at around 3.30pm they were gobsmacked to see the 10ft twister form before their eyes.

Worcester News:

Julie Hayes and her fiancé Ben Lee  

Ben was able to capture incredible footage of the freak weather phenomenon, which is caused when hot air rises rapidly through cooler air and usually occurs in arid deserts.

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Julie, an IT worker from Solihull, said the whirlwind tore around the grounds of the stately home for around 30 seconds before it disappeared out of sight.

She added: "We had just visited Hanbury Hall with my brother and partner and as we made our way back to the car park, we could see a group of people looking at something.

"As we got nearer, we watched this mini tornado form over the path. It was an incredible sight.

"It was really bizarre. You don't see many things that surprise you but this really was a fascinating phenomenon to witness, certainly in this country.

"It wasn't particularly windy or stormy. It had been a lovely day and I guess it was just a freak of nature that the weather conditions were perfect for it.

"It only lasted a matter of seconds. You could see it disappearing over the grass but it was most prevalent over the path as it whipped all the dust up.

"Its certainly not something you see every day and we were very lucky to capture it on film."

Worcester News:

Dust devils are comparable to tornados in that both involve rotating columns of vertical air.

They mainly occur in desert and semi-arid areas where the ground is dry and high surface temperatures produce strong updrafts.

Unlike tornadoes, dust devils grow upwards from the ground rather than down from the clouds.

They only last a few minutes because cool air is sucked into the base of the rising vortex, cooling the ground and cutting off its heat supply.

They rarely cause injuries, but have been witnessed reaching heights up to 1,100 yards (1,000m).