Football plays looked on in amazement as a dust devil tornado picked up an umbrella midway through their game.

The twister formed on the dusty pitch while the two Sunday league sides were playing in Nakhon Ratchasima, northern Thailand, on February 12.

It swirled around the penalty box and pushed the ball out of touch while the referee ordered the young sportsmen to the opposite end of the field to stay safe.

Onlooker Khuekrit said: 'The weather was very hot that day, a lot warmer than before, I think that's what caused it. It didn't cause any damage but it was funny the way the umbrella was spinning around.'

Dust devil tornadoes are types of whirlwinds that form when the sun heats a patch of land and the air above becomes warmer and rises quickly.

Cooler air then moves into the low-pressure gap left by the rising warm air. The new drafts of cooler air also heat up and rise and the cycle continues, picking up dust and debris and making the spiral visible.

They are not as dangerous as supercell tornadoes, which can cause severe damage.