Sandstorm in England? Residents left baffled as layer of dust coats streets

The"dirty rain" storm - thought to have been carried-up from the Sahara - dumped a layer of dust all over many parts of England overnight.

The phenomenon appeared to have covered a wide area with reports coming in from towns and cities all over the North West and the Midlands.

Motorists awoke to find that their cars covered in the coating of grimy orange dust in blotches that showed it had been deposited by drops of rain.

The phenomenon is known to occur occasionally - the last known previous reports being in the Midlands in 2003 -  but the current incident was being described as "a significant event".

The Met Office confirmed that it had received reports of the dirty rain phenomenon and said staff were compiling a report about the extent of the dust deposits.

The dust storm was delivering a bonus to car washes which were busy with drivers wanting to get their motors clean.

But caused a headache for car sales lots where staff were faced with a clean-up operation.

Paul Smith, of Wirral Small Cars, in Heswall, said: "I could hardly believe my eyes when I arrived at the office and saw all the cars covered in.

"At first I thought someone had been going round shaking dust over the cars and then dousing them with water.

At first I thought someone had been going round shaking dust over the cars

"But then I realised that it must be something to do with the weather and someone said it was probably sand from the Sahara Desert.

Driver Ken Green, 43, from Bolton, Manchester, said: "At first I thought it was just my car.  I washed the windscreen because it was covered in dust.

"I thought perhaps it was grime from a building site and then I noticed as I drove down the road that every car for miles and miles was covered in it.

"When you add it up there must be of tons of the stuff that has been deposited all over the country."

A spokesperson from the National Oceonography Centre said: "Saharan sand is red or a dirty colour because it contains a lot of iron which is a mirconutrient.

"When dust storms like the one that has covered areas of Britain happen they really benefit growth in the waters off the coast by giving rise to plankton blooms.

"The sand acts like fertiliser on the ocean and allows fish and other sea creatures in the northern hemisphere to feed and reproduce.

"Further out to sea can be like a desert for sea life because they don't have the iron micro-nutrient - so in terms of helping sustain ocean life the sand storm is great."

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