A MAN has told of his terror after he was caught up in a tornado in America.

Brian Rogers, from Langdon Hills, said he was “lucky to be alive” after the tornado ripped through Branson, Missouri, devasting the theatre he was working in.

The tornado killed 12 people and devastated the town.

Mr Rogers, who runs Performers College, in Southend Road, Corringham, was sleeping in the Grand Plaza Hotel, just across the road from the Branson Variety Theatre when the tornado hit.

He said: “It was just before 12.50am and the phone rang. It was the hotel receptionist and she said, ‘Mr Rogers get down here, a tornado is on its way’.

“There were sirens going off, and the lights were out. I just couldn't believe what was happening.

“There were only about 20 guests in the hotel and we were running down the stairs in the pitch black trying to get to the basement. It was like something out of a movie.”

As he made his way down eight flights of stairs, he could hear the tornado approaching.

He added: “I heard an absolutely horrendous noise, like a giant wind turbine, and the windows started violently shaking.

“As the tornado passed the hotel, it got eerily light outside, like it was daylight, then when it was over, it was suddenly pitch black again.”

The hotel avoided major damage, but the theatre was not so lucky.

Mr Rogers said: “I feel so lucky to be alive. The side of the road my hotel is on was largely OK, but across the road, some buildings were flattened. The tornado destroyed nearly everything in its path.”

Mr Rogers choreographs and directs shows at the theatre twice a year, which is owned by fellow Englishman David King.

He had been working in the theatre just two hours before the 150mph winds hit.

It is estimated £1million damage has been done to the theatre.

Mr Rogers returned to England last Thursday, just a day after the tornado.

He said: “It didn’t really hit me until I came home and saw my family, then I thought I nearly wasn’t here at all.

“It was the most terrified I have ever been in my life. I still don’t feel right now.”