The SES said it received 12 call-outs to fix leaking roofs and attend to fallen trees and branches.

Local controller with the Muswellbrook SES, Mark Elsley, said most of the damage occurred around Kayuga Road, the Eastbrook Links Subdivision, up behind the Toyota and Ford car dealerships and in the Highbrook Park area.

“A trampoline caught in the wind took out a fence, damaged a vehicle, hit the top of a house and put a hole in the roof before it landed on the ground,” Mr Elsley said.

“We also received reports of a dog kennel that became airborne.”

Mr Elsley said SES volunteers were out till 11pm in the rain fixing damage caused by items that weren’t secured.

“Residents need to make every effort to tie down loose outdoor equipment and children’s play things before a storm like Sunday’s because it’s those items that can cause the most damage,” he said.

On Monday morning residents around the Eastbrook Links Estate were still tidying up.

Lyn Farrell, from Jeans Street, moved in three weeks ago and described the storm as “horrible” because it hit with great ferocity.

“It was fine one minute and then the next minute ‘bang’ it came up over the rise near the house and we copped it,” she said.

“Everything was flying, back fences were getting blown off and tree branches were coming down.

“One of my fence palings was off, my wheelie bins, which had been out the front, were out the back and my daughter-in-law came down and told me her fence was also off.”

The Mitsubishi Motors sign, on the corner of Rutherford Road and the New England Highway, was also blown out and smashed during the storm, leaving broken pieces strewn across the New England Highway.

The Bureau of Meteorology said rainfall from the wild weather was patchy across the Upper Hunter.

Blandford recorded 20mm, Singleton 18mm, Murrurundi 12mm, Broke 11mm, Denman 9.2mm and Antiene, south of Muswellbrook, recorded 8.4mm. Scone, Aberdeen and Upper Rouchel each received less than 5mm in Sunday’s thunderstorms.