Highbury Roundhouse was severely damaged by high winds in the last week of February, 1990.

Worried neighbours in Whistler Street, at the back of the community centre in Ronalds Road, watched in horror as the gale ripped tiles and huge chunks of metal from the roof and sent them hurtling through the air.

One man said he ended up with a 40ft piece of broken roof sticking on his lawn and people were too frightened to go out in case they were injured by the flying objects.

Brian Bush said: "It was very frightening. I had my small children sleeping upstairs and I was convinced something was going to crash through my window. We didn't know what to do, there were buts and pieces flying all over the place."

Fire officers evacuated the handful of staff in the building at the time and made the roof safe by ripping off the remaining loose tiles.

The Roundhouse reopened the next day.