Freak hail storm strands customers at Exmoor Zoo

Tony Gussin Tuesday, March 19, 2013
5:17 PM

Visitors trapped in car park as hail ‘the size of pennies’ pours down this afternoon (Tuesday).

Exmoor Zoo staff work to clear the hail stones away so their visitors can escape the car park.

CUSTOMERS visiting Exmoor Zoo were stranded in the car park this afternoon (Tuesday) when a freak hail storm swept in.

As hail stones the size of pennies battered car roofs, zoo staff worked to clear the slippery car park entrance so that their visitors could escape.

Lynn Reynolds at the zoo near Bratton Fleming said about an hour ago the sky turned black, there was thunder and then ‘it just absolutely hammered it down’.

“It was so heavy and the hail stones were huge, people just couldn’t get out of the car park or up the ramp,” she said.

“It started about 3.45pm and our staff just about now managed to clear the ramp at 4.30.”

She said the animals, completely disgusted by the British weather, had all decided to go to bed early for the day.