Bush shelters amid tornado alert

Mr Bush is planning to spend a week at his ranch in Texas

US President George W Bush was evacuated from his ranch in Crawford after a tornado warning was issued in central Texas, officials said.

Mr Bush, his wife Laura and their two dogs Barney and Miss Beazley were taken by armoured car to a tornado shelter on the property, the White House said.

However, the couple did not need to enter the shelter as the bad weather only lasted a short while.

The couple and members of staff were in the vehicle for about 10 minutes.

The tornado warning, issued by the National Weather Service, lasted for less than an hour.

The rush to the tornado shelter interrupted President Bush's day at the ranch where he was being kept abreast of plans in Iraq to execute the former leader, Saddam Hussein.