'Tornado' spotted above Brecon mountain in Wales

Funnel clouds that onlookers believe could have been tornadoes were spotted across Wales on Sunday.

Daniel Meredith from Caerphilly filmed a scene above a mountain in Brecon.

BBC Wales weatherman Derek Brockway also retweeted photos of similar phenomena at Pen-y-Fan in the Brecon Beacons and Magor Marsh, Monmouthshire.

He said for the clouds to be tornadoes, the base of the funnel would need to touch the ground - and it was unclear from the images if they did.

Mr Meredith has been travelling around Wales capturing thunder and lightning and other weather phenomena over the past week.

He said: "I was looking over towards Ferndale first, then went over the top of the other side to look towards Cardiff.

"I looked around and saw the funnel on the other side of the hill. It was crazy how it happened."

Mr Brockway said: "For it to be an actual tornado, the funnel cloud extending from the base of the cloud would have to touch the ground.

"The weather has been unstable and humid recently with low pressure producing heavy showers and thunderstorms. Sometimes these produce funnel clouds."

A funnel cloud was also spotted over the Bristol Channel on Sunday just before storms hit at 16:00 BST.

The spiralling cloud was visible for around 15 minutes, according to onlookers, and appeared to create a spray from the sea.

According to the Met Office, funnel clouds, also known as a tuba, form when a rotating column of wind draws in cloud droplets.

They become defined as a waterspout if they make contact with a body of water, or a tornado if they reach land.

They are usually seen when heavy rain, hail, thunder and lightning are on the way.