A MINI-TORNADO which ripped through the English county of Surrey was so powerful it lifted a pack of feral cats up into the air "like a big paper bag", a witness said.

In a scene straight out of The Wizard of Oz, the violent storm which hit about 5pm Saturday (4am Sunday AEDT) brought down power lines, damaged property and sent four wild moggies flying through the air at a horse stables.

"It started with very heavy rain, hailstones and very strong wind and all of a sudden, the wind was very, very strong, to the point of lifting roofs," horse owner Shirley Blay told the BBC.

"Stable roofs were shaking and lifting and my granddaughter went to make some food up for the pony and the shed she was in lifted.

"She jumped out of it and it just shattered, it was thrown backwards and broke into four pieces.

"We've got four feral cats in the yard and they were being lifted off the ground, they just went round like a big paper bag."

The tornado also reportedly swept through Sussex, from Midhurst, Petworth and Fittleworth to Crawley, with about 13,000 households left without power.