UK weather warning issued for parts of England as hailstorms hit Kent

Summer weather is finally here, but it's come with over 5,000 lightning strikes in the space of a few hours

The Met Office has issued a weather warning after parts of south-east England experienced hail as big as 50 pence pieces.

Temperatures soared across the country over Thursday and Friday, but the sunshine has been interspersed with thunderstorms that brought almost 5,000 lightning strikes over south-eastern England.

A yellow warning for heavy rain has been put in place for London, the south-east and parts of East Yorkshire over Friday afternoon and into the night.

Kent has already seen some dramatic weather, after being hammered with hailstones that eye witnesses said were as large as 50 pence pieces on Friday morning.

Frittenden in Kent saw the hottest temperatures of the year so far, with thermometers reaching up to 26.7C. The previous high was in nearby Faversham in April.

Met Office meteorologist Helen Roberts said: “This warm plume of air is just passing over today.

”But most of England will be pleasantly warm over the next few days.

“It's a different picture, though, for Scotland and Northern Ireland, which will be cooler, windier and will have the odd shower.”

Motorists have been advised to take care driving home this evening as there will likely be more storms.

Additional reporting by Press Association