New storm weather warning as care home hit by lightning

The Met Office has issued a new weather warning after thunderstorms hit parts of the UK overnight.

As the storms continue, forecasters are warning of potential disruption and flooding in some areas of the Midlands, the East of England and Wales - as well as parts of neighbouring regions.

There has been some travel disruption, with the Met Office warning of heavy rain and "frequent" lightning strikes.

Possible flooding could lead to "difficult driving conditions and some road closures", according to the Met Office.

The current weather warning is in place from 12:00 to 23:59 BST.

Forecasters said storms were likely to develop on Thursday afternoon and evening, and to slowly move westwards or north-westwards from the east. People living in flood risk areas are advised to plan ahead.

More than 70 flood warnings are currently in place - mostly in areas of southern England where rainfall was heavy overnight.

The worst of the weather will be well-scattered, however, meaning some places within the warning area could stay completely dry, while others could face significant deluges.

The latest warning comes after spectacular thunderstorms rumbled across southern England and Wales on Wednesday night - with many people being woken in the early hours of Thursday by dramatic lightning strikes.

There were thousands of lightning flashes across the region, with people marvelling at the strikes on social media.

Emma Richardson from Woking, Surrey, said it was an "amazing experience".

"There was even a giant rumble and cracking sound for the big finale."

'Like an explosion'

In Westbury, Wiltshire, lightning damaged the electricity supply on the railway.

Lines have since reopened and National Rail says services in the area are running as normal.

A number of roads in Devon were closed this morning due to fallen trees and flooding.

In Watford, a lightning strike caused a house fire at about 05:30 BST.

And two buildings were damaged by the lightning strikes overnight in Sussex.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue said a care home in Elmer was struck while a building at the University of Chichester faced damage to its roof and power.

Michael Tiddy, who witnessed the storm in Elmer, said he heard an "extremely loud bang like an explosion" and saw emergency service vehicles arrive at the home.

No-one was injured and residents have been relocated.

Mr Tiddy described it at "one hell of a storm".

Fire crews were called to a lightning strike which damaged the roof at a residential care home in Elmer in the early hours of the morning

Despite the thunderstorm warning, forecasters expected the wet weather and storms to ease as the day wears on.

The Met Office said Thursday was the warmest day of the year for all four nations of the UK - with a high of 23.4C (74F) recorded in Santon Downham in Suffolk.

Kinlochewe and Achnagart saw temperatures reach 22.1C, Hawarden in Flintshire saw 22.8C and Castlederg, Co Tyrone hit 20.3C.

"But where it stayed cloudy or with a wind off the sea, temperatures were significantly lower than this," the Met Office said.

And more impressive scenes were witnessed in Loose, Kent

Additional reporting by Victoria Park-Froud, BBC Verify