In pictures: summer storm

It was a very stormy night on Wednesday, when a line of thunderstorms battered south-east England for several hours.

The storms formed across France during the afternoon and steadily headed north, crossing the English Channel. They hit the south coast, dropping torrential rain, during the early evening.

There was little wind so the storms were quite slow moving. It steadily edged north and eastwards through the night, delivering torrential downpours and spectacular lightning displays.

The dramatic storms affected the South East, with Sussex, Kent, Surrey, south London, Essex and East Anglia worst hit.

BBC South East Today weather presenter Kaye Forster said: "The storms produced very large hailstones more attune with storms in the US."

The hailstones that accompanied the lightning were the size of marbles in some areas, which is a very rare occurrence in the UK.

During Wednesday, the south-east of England was smothered in very moist and humid air. As the humidity increased, the build up of energy was finally released in a dramatic lightning display.

Thunderstorms are common during the British summertime, but the intense nature of Wednesday's storms made them a sight to behold.

The severe storms cleared into the North Sea early on Thursday morning, although there remains a risk of isolated thundery showers developing on Thursday.

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