'Blood Rain' Hits UK From 'Apocalyptic' Sahara Dust Bomb

Saharan dust is basically a mixture of sand and dust from the Saharan desert, which can be blown further afield by strong winds.

Now, a number of people across the UK are reporting orange-tinged skies and are being affecting by light red-coloured rain from the storm.

Rebecca Bushby says her garden was being drowned with dusty rainwater.

Rich Harvey, 36, said his coat was 'ruined' by the blood rain.

He said: "We are not suffering the red sky in Maidenhead – just heavy drizzle.

"The puddles look muddy, and white cars look a bit rusty.

"I simply walked to Sainsbury's to get a sausage roll and a can of pop for lunch and now I look like a rusty snowman.

"I Prefer a Greggs sausage roll, but was too wet to walk all that way."

Lola Panic, a student from Deptford, southeast London, added: "Originally we felt a bit disgusted because of how dirty the rain seemed," said the 26-year-old.

"Then we felt slightly scared and confused, didn’t want to leave the house. In fact, none of us has left the house yet."

Donna Deeming, 46, from Basildon, Essex, was 'only popping out to grab some milk' where she spotted her car was covered in the stuff.

"I sat in the car and thought 'what on earth has happened?'" the finance administrator said.

"It’s only very drizzly here. There have been no downpours as yet, so I wasn’t sure if someone had thrown something on the car or if it was from some building work locally."

The Met Office's Richard Miles said no air quality warnings have been issued, so far.

Miles said: “Storm Celia over Spain is indeed pulling a dust cloud up from the Sahara, which could potentially reach as far as the south of the UK. 

“However, we don’t expect significant impacts – the most likely would be on the cloudscapes at sunset but, as conditions are likely to be generally overcast and wet for much of the day, this is unlikely to amount to much. There are no air-quality warnings."