A tornado-shaped cloud was sighted over a Nottinghamshire village at the weekend.
A number of people spotted the cloud - known as a funnel cloud - on Saturday evening over Rainworth (July 13).
Ashley Potts saw the funnel-shaped cloud and stopped to take a picture.
He said: "I was just driving home and saw it through the windscreen and couldn't believe the look of it.
"It is not very often you see one so I thought it was best to take a photo of it. It was about 7.45pm.
"It's apparently something that with so much moisture and wind in the the air, it creates a funnel - it is very rare in this country."
A Met Office spokeswoman said funnel clouds are extending, spinning clouds that reach towards the ground, but never touch it.
When they reach the ground they become a tornado.
A number of people took to Facebook to say they had seen the cloud too.
One person wrote "crikey" after seeing the picture. Another said "Start of a twister for sure!"
What are funnel clouds?
A funnel cloud is a cone-shaped cloud which extends from the base of a cloud towards the ground without actually reaching the surface.
In the UK they often look like thin dangling bits of rope, hanging from the cloud above.
But in hotspots such as tornado alley in the USA, funnel clouds can sometimes be thicker and much more intense.
How do funnel clouds form?
A rotating column of wind draws in cloud droplets, making a region of intense low pressure visible.
They are formed in the same way as a tornado building around this localised area of intensely low pressure and are typically associated with the formation of cumulonimbus thunderclouds.
What is the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado?
Crucially, a funnel cloud does not reach the earth's surface. At the point it reaches land it becomes a tornado, or if it reaches a body of water it becomes a waterspout.
In a typical year, the UK sees around 30-35 tornadoes each year, though it is very rare that are they strong enough to cause any significant damage.
