Sports interrupted by dust devil

The dust devil appeared in a field next to the school

Races had to be halted at a Wiltshire school sports day when a dust devil picked up a bale of straw and flung it on top of children and spectators.

"The tricycle race had just finished when someone shouted 'look at that'," said parent Paul Ormiston.

"It came straight towards us and dumped straw all over us, across the school field and the village."

Two further dust devils later appeared during what was the first sports day at the newly built Sherston School.

The BBC's meteorologist in the West, Richard Angwin said: "Dust devils are the swirls of warm air that rise from the ground on hot summers days.

Straw was flung over spectators and children

"They may seem to be quite rare but that is not the case and they are often seen in mid-June because this is the peak of the haymaking season.

"The straw gets caught in the rising air and acts as a tracer for the familiar rotation pattern."

Dust devils may be several metres wide and extend 100 metres into the air but they are fairly weak.

"If you were to jump into the middle of one you would get a mouthful of dust (or straw) but the winds within the dust devil would only ruffle your clothes," said Richard Angwin.

"After today's events, the school perhaps will have to hold its sports day before the straw is cut," said Mr Ormiston.