Saharan dust falls on cars across Derbyshire

An unusual weather pattern is transporting the red grains thousands of miles from North Africa to Britain.

Drivers in Derbyshire have reported finding the dust, which is dropped from the atmosphere when it rains, on their vehicles.

Nicki Dyer, who sent us the above picture, said: “My car was cleaned yesterday and I was quite shocked at how mucky it was when I came out of work this afternoon.

“I wondered what it was until I saw a post about it on the Derbyshire Times’ Facebook page.”

Marie Spetch said: “Mine looks like it’s been to seaside.”

Diane Cullimore said: “My husband washed his car yesterday. He’s not happy today!”

Andy Ward said: “I remember this happening when I was a kid in the mid-1980s.

“It was all over my Grandad’s white MK1 VW Polo when we went to visit.

“I was in total awe!”

Paul Hutcheon, deputy chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: “We usually see this happen several times a year, particularly in summer when you get these big dust storms in the western Sahara and the southerly winds to bring the particles here.”