Summary

  • Thunderstorms have caused flooding in London and south-east England, with more than 400 emergency calls made to the fire service

  • The Met Office has issued an amber "be prepared" warning for rain in the London area from 15:00 to 23:00 BST

  • The Environment Agency has about 40 flood alerts and 14 flood warnings in place

  • The flooding has caused huge travel problems with rail services cancelled and roads closed

  • Some polling stations have been flooded, hampering people voting in the EU Referendum

Live Reporting

Alex Therrien and Vanessa Barford

  1. Man lends wellies to voters at flooded polling station

    A kind-hearted voter has lent his wellies to people arriving at the Devon Way polling station in Chessington, Kingston upon Thames, so they are able to cast their vote.

    The polling station is under water - but remains open - as voting in the EU Referendum continues.

    Devon Way polling stationJohn Tindall

    John Tindall says he didn’t get to vote as he was in a hurry and the water was around six inches deep at the polling station and fast-flowing.

    Kingston Council said the Devon Way polling station is closed but it has opened a temporary polling station at the Hook Centre, Hook Road, where those registered at Devon Way can vote.

  2. County Ground a bit damp underfoot

    Jodie Smith
    BBC News

    Essex County Cricket Club has tweeted this picture of how things are looking at the county ground in Chelmsford this morning.

    Hopefully things will dry out before their next match there tomorrow night.

    Chelmsford's cricket groundTwitter/@EssexCricket

  3. 'Trains which arrived didn't match those on displays'

    Press Association

    Passengers at Clapham Junction were frustrated by the travel chaos this morning. 

    One passenger said: 

    The trains which did arrive didn't match the ones on the displays so it was difficult to even plan alternative routes. It was difficult to even enter the station because an entrance had been closed due to flooding. You can't blame the staff, who were doing the best they could with little information, but it's a disgrace to have to put up with these conditions, trains arriving hopelessly late, and then being rammed into stiflingly full carriages - when they eventually arrived - and still paying top dollar.

  4. Warnings of more storms to come

    The severe weather has abated for many but BBC weather presenter Simon King warns there is more to come for the evening rush hour. 

    He tweeted: 

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  5. Clapham Junction affected by flooding

    Network Rail tweets...

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  6. BBC Weather Watchers send flooding pictures

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  7. Flooding hits roads in and around London

    Flooding has been causing major problems on roads in and around London, with lane closures hitting busy main routes including the M25, M4, A12, A40, A13 and A406. 

    Check BBC Travel for more information and @BBCTravelAlert

  8. Oxford Tube delays due to heavy flooding

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  9. Watch: Footage shows lightning strike over west London

    Colin Smith captured lightning over Ealing as storms raged overnight.

    It was filmed on an iphone on slowmo setting.     

    Lightning filmed from west London

  10. Overcrowding at train stations after weather causes disruption

    South West Trains tweets...

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  11. More lightning on the way

    Royal Meteorological Society tweets...

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  12. Massive disruption due to flooding and lightning

    BBC London Travel
    BBC Radio London Travel

    The storms and flooding have had a massive impact on transport in London. For the latest travel updates visit the BBC London travel page or follow @BBCTravelAlert

    But the main points are:

    • Lambeth North, Tooting Broadway and Balham underground stations closed
    • Embankment station is closed to westbound Circle/District lines
    • Borough station closed again because of flooding
    • Canning Town Station also closed to DLR/Jubilee lines
    • No service on the Circle line due to signal failures at Liverpool Street and Westminster
    • District line - No service between Parsons Green and Wimbledon 
    • On Southern trains there's no service between East Croydon and Victoria. Lines are blocked and the Gatwick Express is also suspended
    • No trains between London Liverpool Street and Ilford. Minor delays between Liverpool Street and Enfield Town/Cheshunt 
    • Greater Anglia and TFL Rail services - there is major disruption due flooding  at Manor Park
    • Service suspended on London Overground between Canonbury and Hackney Wick due to electrical supply problems
    • Service suspended on London Overground between New Cross and Surrey Quays due to flooding
    • SouthEastern services on the Bexleyheath line are suspended due flooding at Lewisham and a lineside fire at Bexleyheath
    • There's disruption on South West Trains due to lightning damaging the signalling system between Virginia Water and Weybridge and all lines are blocked. There are no trains between Shepperton and Fulwell until approximately 12:00 BST

  13. More than 40mm of rain in some areas

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  14. Your pictures of lightning last night

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  15. Watch: House floods in Vauxhall after storm

    A resident in south London filmed water gushing through his home following a massive storm. 

    The water can be seen coming out of the toilet and through Seb Warwick's flat in Vauxhall, He says his bedroom is now 20ins under water. 

    House floods in Vauxhall after the London storm

    Seb, who was in bed at the time, said: "I first noticed at about 02:30 when I heard a lot of water gushing from the bathroom area. It carried on for about an hour and a half. 

    "I had a quick, frantic look around and then it was all possessions upstairs as quickly as possible really." 

    The London Fire Brigade received more than 300 emergency calls overnight as heavy rain hit London and the South East.

  16. Fire brigade rescues people from homes amid flooding

  17. 'Month's worth of rain' may have fallen

    BBC weather presenter and meteorologist tweets...

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  18. Met Office warns of disruption and 'frequent lightning'

    The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for London and south-east England, as well as for the east of England. 

    They will be in place until 06:00 BST Friday. 

    The Met Office said scattered thunderstorms were likely to break out from this afternoon and into tonight. 

    They said: "Please be aware of possible disruption to travel and localised flooding as well as frequent lightning."

  19. Cars stranded after downpours

    Cars in Essex under waterPA

    Vehicles were also stranded in standing water in Barking, east London following the bad weather

  20. Watch: Latest weather forecast

    BBC London weather forecast Thursday 23 June 2016