THE gale-force winds left the North-East's pigeon racers thankful it happened out of season.

Up-North Combine of Racing Pigeons suffered thousands of pounds worth of damage after 90mph winds blew off part of the roof and demolished a 40ft by 70ft wall.

The company, which is based at Sappers Corner, on the A689, at Greatham, Hartlepool, transports racing pigeons to competitions.

Only two of the company's 17 vehicles were slightly damaged when the storm tore through the building at about 7.30am on Saturday.

More than 6,000 pigeon fanciers use the company.

Manager Pam Grange, 44, said: "I was devastated when I saw the damage.

"Thankfully, no one was hurt. The building can be repaired, people cannot.

"The wind blew the shutters off the shed and it must have acted like a funnel, nearly knocking the building down. When I pulled up in the car park, I was in shock. The scene was catastrophic and I just felt sick.

"Thankfully, it did not happen a few hours later, because youngsters going to play football meet in the car park at around 10am."