The day 60 years ago record-breaking hailstones battered Horsham

By The Newsroom
Published 5th Sep 2018, 11:46 BST
Updated 6th Sep 2018, 04:28 BST
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Sixty years ago today, the largest hailstones ever recorded in Britain fell in Horsham, in a storm which wreaked havoc on a scale never seen in the town before or since.

On Thursday September 5 1958, the roof was ripped off Horsham Football Club, and hundreds of houses had their roofs and windows smashed, while thousands of trees were torn from the ground, as hurricane force winds and rain lashed the district.

Pictured are some of the hailstones that fell - however, much bigger ones were found and created the record that still stands in the UK.

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The record-breaking hailstone weighed 190g (6.7oz) and measured 6.35cm (2.5in) in diameter, heavier and larger than a cricket ball (although some reports say the actual weight was 142g.

Large hailstones fell during the dayLarge hailstones fell during the day
Large hailstones fell during the day

The following Friday the County Times carried the headline: “STORM COST - IT’S HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS” And the paper ran a two page feature of the extraordinary scenes of carnage witnessed by Horsham residents.